A New Start
by EdwardsButterflygrl
Summary: When things fall apart for Bella, she takes her best friend Alice's advice to move to another city for a new start. She reunites with Edward. When problems strike again, will it bring Bella and Edward together? All Human! Rated M for future chapters
1. Getting Started

**A/N I do not own Twilight or any of the characters**

**Rated M for future chapters and language.**

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Chapter 1-Getting Started

BPOV

The sun lightened the room as my alarm clock signaled that I needed to get out of bed. Rolling on my back, I rubbed my eyes. Today I start my new job. After finishing my master's degree in Occupational Therapy, I had always wanted to work with kids. After things fell apart, I moved here hoping for a new start. I concentrated on the lyrics of the song playing as my alarm. I stretched and got out of bed singing the lyrics to "So What" by P!nk.

I walked out of my bedroom and turned on the coffee pot, then walked into my bathroom to start getting ready for work. I had been hired at Washington Irving School as the school's Occupational Therapist thanks to the amazing reference from William N Willard Memorial Hospital. Embry was an amazing boss, and I owed him big time. Even though I was going to be working mainly at the school, I was staying on part-time at the hospital.

I looked at the time as I walked into my bedroom to get ready for work. It was 7 in the morning, I had to be at the school by 8. I grabbed a pair of nice black dress pants and a red satin blouse from my closet as well as my only comfortable pair of black heels. By the time I got dressed and got a cup of coffee in me, it was 7:15 and time to go. I grabbed my briefcase from the couch and walked out the door.


	2. First Day

**A/N- Please bear with me, this is my first story. Any feedback appreciated.**

**I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters.**

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**Chapter 2- First Day**

As I turned into the school parking lot, nerves set in. I was suddenly very nervous. I wondered if the people here would even like me. I parked next to a silver Volvo near the entrance. I checked my appearance in the rearview mirror. There wasn't a hair out of place, and my make-up wasn't smudged. I pulled the keys from the ignition and shoved them in my purse. Grabbing my briefcase, purse, and travel mug of coffee, I stepped out of my car. I kicked the door to my black, 2008 Hyundai Tiburon closed. I walked the short distance to the entrance and pulled open the doors across from the office

I walked over to the office and opened a glass door into the main area. I walked carefully over to the receptionists desk.

"Hello ma'am. How can I help you?" asked the receptionist.

"Um, I'm the new Occupational Therapist, Bella Swan." I said biting my lip. It had always been a nervous habit of mine.

"Oh yes, Welcome to Washington Irving School. I'm Emily, the school secretary. I will see if Carlisle is free to meet with you." Emily said warmly.

"Thanks" I replied.

While she spoke with Carlisle, I looked around the office. There were 2 doors, one labeled "Principal" and the other "Vice Principal". Opposite the doors was a long wall with a copier and a bench for children to sit. A filing cabinet was shoved in a corner near a large window across from the entrance. A grayish bluish carpet carpeted the entire floor.

"Carlisle will be out in a sec." Emily said, pulling me out of my observations.

"Okay" I said.

I walked over to the bench and sat down. I wondered what was going to happen now. As soon as I thought this, the door labeled "Principal" opened and 2 people walked out of the office. The first was a woman about my height with a medium complexion and long dark, wavy hair. She looked like she might be latina. Following her was a man, a very tall man. He looked about 6 foot, maybe taller with blond hair. My first thought was that he was incredibly good looking. Bothe of them walked over to me, so I stood up to greet them.

"Hello, my name is Carlisle, and this is Carmen" The really tall, handsome man said.

"Hello, Bella Swan" I said shaking each of their hands.

"Very pleased to meet you" Carmen said.

"Thanks" I said feeling a bit more confident.

"Emily," Carlisle said. "I need the key to Bella's office."

"I've got it right here" Emily said handing him a small key.

"Follow me and I will show you your office" Carlisle said holding the glass door for me.

My head was starting to spin. I had my own office?


	3. My new office and Esme

Chapter 3- My new office and Esme

**I followed Carlisle down 3 hallways before he stopped in front of a door across from the school nurse. He shoved the key into the lock and opened the door, flipping on the lights. I walked into the room and almost gasped. It was set up like an OT department with a desk and a chair in the corner near the door. I even had a window to the outside. I absolutely loved it.**

"**Well miss Swan, this is your office. I hope you like it." Carlisle said holding out the key to me.**

"**I love it" I said taking the key from him.**

"**Good. If you need anything, my wife is the school nurse. She's across the hall. Her name is Esme. For today, you will be working with her. She'll give you the files for the students you will be working with." Carlisle said. "I'll take you over and introduce you to her" he said walking out into the hallway.**

**I followed him across the hall into the nurses office.**

"**Esme hun" Carlisle said.**

**A Woman at a desk got up and walked over to us. She was a petite woman with wavy brown hair just a touch lighter than my own.**

"**Esme, this is miss Bella Swan. She's the new Occupational Therapist."**

"**So very nice to meet you" Esme said shaking my hand warmly.**

"**Nice to meet you too" I said.**

"**Well, I will let you both get to your day." Carlisle said backing out of the room.**

**As soon as he disappeared out of sight, I turned back to Esme.**

"**Why don't you go put your stuff in your office. When you get back, we will dig into some files before first period gym. We will be testing the diabetics sugar levels." Esme said smiling.**

"**Okay, I'll be right back" I said. I walked back to my office and over to the desk. There was a little gold key to the desk sitting on top of it. I pulled open the bottom drawer and shoved my purse into it. I shut the drawer and locked it and stashed my briefcase under the desk. When I was done I walked out, shutting the door behind me. I went to Esme's office and walked over to her desk.**

**For the next half hour we poured over students files. A couple of them were autistic, one was severe ADD, another had already bad MS, and the other three, I was assisting the schools psychologist with. They knew my minor was psychology, and that I had chosen to get the degree. Before Esme could show me the last file, the bell rang, and the hallway was filled with voices.**

"**Time to stick little fingers" Esme said with a sigh standing up. She pulled gloves, a box of lancets, and 2 blood sugar meters from on top of her filing cabinet. She handed me a meter and a box of gloves. She grabbed some test strips and walked out the door. "Follow me to the gym" she said, and I followed.**


	4. When blood and the past collide

**Chapter 4- When blood and the past collide**

The gym wasn't far from our offices. In fact, the gym teachers office was the next office next to mine, but down the hall a little ways. Not far from his officer were 2 metal doors open to the gym. We walked into the gym where a whole bunch of kids sat on the bleachers. The gym teacher wasn't facing us, but something seemed familiar about him. I wrote off that thought and followed Esme to a small group of 3 students.

"Hey guys" Esme said in greeting. "This is miss Swan. She's going to be helping me out today." she said lowering herself to their level.

Three sets of eyes looked at me as I lowered myself beside Esme. Esme and I put on gloves. A little girl with glowing red curls slid over to me with a toothy grin on her face.

"My name is Maggie" she said.

"Hi Maggie. How are you?" I asked smiling as I put a test strip into the meter and turned it on.

"I'm good. Happy it's the first day of school." she said kicking her little feet.

"What grade are you in Maggie?" I asked, using an alcohol pad to wipe off any bacteria from the tip of her finger.

"First grade. I gradiated Kintergarten last year." she said watching my every move.

I was finally ready, pulling a lancet to stick her finger with.

"Are you ready Maggie?" I asked pulling the safety off the lancet.

"Yep, I'm a pro at this." she siad, quite proud of herself.

I couldn't help but smile, she had the sweetest personality. I placed the base against the soft skin on her finger tip and pushed the button that released the tiny spring-loaded needle. She didn't even flinch when the needle pierced her skin. I squeezed lightly on her finger until I got a good drop of blood. I picked up the meter and put the test strip on her finger to soak up the little drop of blood there. The meter beeped and I looked at it. Her blood sugar level was well within normal limits. I instantly recorded her blood sugar level and took care of picking up.

"Everything looks good Maggie." I said to her.

"Yay! See you later miss Swan." She said bouncing up, running towards the kids grouped up to play kickball. The gym was filled with the delightful sounds of kids having fun. Esme and I picked up and headed for the door.

"Thanks Esme." The gym teacher called. I know I knew his voice from somewhere. I couldn't place it until I heard Esme reply: "You're welcome Edward."


	5. Reactions

**A/n: I finally got Edward in there for you guys. I just wanted to give some background info first. Please, I need some reviews to know how I am doing. Feedback please?!?**

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**Chapter 5- Reactions**

I fought the urge to run as fast as I could out of the gym. I knew I must have been really pale from dealing with blood, but this pushed me over the edge.

"I-I-I think I need to lay down." I choked out as soon as Esme and I returned to her office.

"Lie down dear while I get you a cold compress." Esme said returning our supplies back to the top of the filing cabinet.

I laid back on the hard plastic mattress. Esme returned quickly with a washcloth and placed it gently on my forehead.

"Are you okay Bella?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just can't stand the sight of blood." I replied squeezing my eyes shut. That was only part of the reason I was laying here.

"Lay here for a while. I'll be right back to check on you" she said as the bell rang, signaling the end of first period.

I heard Esme walk out of the room and I let my mind wander. The only thing my shocked mind could come up with was: How? How in the world had the two of us end up not only in the same city, but also working in the same place?

EPOV

It was just another day to me when Esme and another woman walked into the gym to test the diabetics. I continued to talk to the first graders sitting on the bleachers looking at me. It was then Esme said something that sent a jolt through me. True, I had been looking at the brunette out of the corner of my eye, but that's only because she was really attractive.

That's when I heard Esme say: "This is miss Swan, She's helping me today."

I had to force myself not to react outwardly in front of my class of curious kids. Out of the corner of my eye, I finally noticed the familiarity of the young brunette. She brushed her hair behind her ear, and I caught a glimpse of her face. There was no mistaking the same Bella Swan I met years ago while I was in college. How did she end up here? I wondered to myself. She'd seemed happy in Seattle. Did something change?

I was determined to act like nothing was up as I continued on with my class. She seemed not to recognize me, so maybe she didn't realize it was me yet. But when Esme called my name, there was no way she didn't know it was me now.

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**I know my chapters are a little on the short side, but I don't want to write too much at one time. Hope you like the story so far. It's a work in progress…much like the author. Haha**


	6. Confrontations

Chapter 6- Confrontations

**BPOV**

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Esme and I continued to test the diabetics before gym. Everytime I walked into that damn gymnasium, I had to resist the urge to run right back out. I never acted on my urge to run, for which I was proud of myself. I just pretended not to know Edward even existed. We hadn't really spoken much since a big party at my house after finishing my second semester of college. It hurt for a while knowing it had cost me the friendship I had with him. I moved to Seattle that summer to be closer to my mom, and life moved on from there. This was the last thing I expected to happen.

The final bell rang and I walked back to my office to collect my stuff and go home when Carlisle appeared in the doorway. "Bella, there's a staff meeting tonight at 7:30." He said.

"Okay, I'll be here" I said with a sigh. I'd have to call Alice and cancel our dinner plans.

"See you tonight" Carlisle said leaving.

I picked up my briefcase when someone cleared their throat behind me, making me jump.

"Sorry Bella, didn't mean to startle you."

Oh shit. I knew that voice. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Edward. "How'd you know it was me?" I asked keeping my back turned.

"I knew when Esme introduced you to my first graders" he said quietly. There was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the room for what seemed life forever.

"I have to go" I finally said, grabbing the last of my stuff, and turning around to leave.

"Okay. See you at the meeting Bella." he said walking out of my office.

I walked out into the hallway closing and locking my office door. I walked as fast as I could without falling, out to my car and got in. I needed to get out of here to think. I drove home on autopilot, my thoughts whirling around a million-miles-an-hour in my head. I parked my car in its usual spot and walked to the condo I bought. Once inside, I sagged against the door, tears rolling down my face.

Things had fallen apart in Forks, then in Seattle, I couldn't live through it if it happened again here. Once I had cried out all my tears, I got up and walked to my balcony for a cigarette. I was signed on for the school year, and I would honor that, but I would be looking elsewhere for a job once it ended.


	7. Remembering and hard truths to boot

**Chapter 7- Remembering and hard truths to boot**

**EPOV**

I shut the door to my apartment, the events of the day replaying in my mind. I was floored at how attractive Bella had gotten over the years since I'd last seen her.

*_Flashback_*

_She'd called me to talk face to face._

"_What was this about?" I wondered._

_I sat on a bench facing the water, so I didn't see her walk up and sit next to me. I turned to look at her and couldn't help but notice she looked amazing._

"_I can't stay long. I'm going out with my family" she said looking at her hands. When she looked up I could tell she'd been crying. I was shocked, this couldn't be good._

"_You ok?" I asked._

"_I don't know. I'm rather numb at the moment." she said, her voice shaking. She took a deep breath and looked me straight in the eye. "Edward, I told you a while ago how I felt about you." she said. "You told me that you only saw us being friends. I don't think that's the truth anymore. You may not realize it yet, but everyone knows there's something there."_

_She took another deep breath as tears formed in her deep brown eyes. "I refuse to apologize for what happened at my party. Those will be my greatest memories ever Here." she said handing me something folded in half. "I have to go."_

_She got up and I heard her walk away. I opened what she'd handed me. It was a picture._

_*End Flashback*_

I walked into my kitchen and grabbed a soda before going into my living room and turning on Sports Center. I crashed on my couch still thinking about Bella. I still had the picture she'd handed to me that evening almost 6 years ago. I had framed it, and it now sat on my dresser where I could always see it.

I'd never told her that she'd been right. There really was no excuse for it. I was so scared to think that at the end of the summer she'd be moving to Seattle. I didn't want to ask her to stay for me.

Would she have stayed if I'd asked her?

I needed some perspective on this, so I called my brother Jasper.

"Hello?" Jasper said picking up on the second ring.

"Hey, it's Edward"

"Hey, what's up?" Jasper asked.

"I need some perspective on something." I said.

"Ooh, must be big if you're coming to me about it." he said laughing.

"Remember I told you about Bella Swan?" I asked.

"Yeah, I remember the name. What about her?"

"She's here. She's the Occupational Therapist at Washington Irving." I said getting up and walking into my bedroom so I could see the picture.

"Sounds like maybe fate is giving you a second chance."

"I think she's hurting Jasper" I said remembering how she'd kept her back turned to me.

I don't mean to be mean, but, she confronted you about both your feelings, and you pretty much stopped talking to her, and then she moved to Seattle."

"God, I did do that didn't I?" I asked frustrated with myself.

"Basically, your actions told her that she needed to move on" Jasper said quietly.

Pain and anger washed over me, threatening to knock me on my knees. I was angry at myself for letting her think that she should find someone else. Damn, I was an idiot.

Jasper and I talked for another half hour. We hung up when I had to change for the staff meeting tonight.


	8. Revelations and staff meetings

**Chapter 8- Revelations and staff meetings**

**EPOV**

At 6:45, I walked out to my silver Volvo. I had carefully picked out my outfit for tonight knowing Bella would be there. I drove to the school thinking about mine and Jasper's conversation this afternoon. He'd put things into perspective for me, while laying some harsh truth on me about my actions. Unfortunately, he was right.

I pulled into the parking lot behind a little sports car in front of me. I followed it and parked in the parking spot next to it. I opened my door and stepped out. I could hear "Far Away" by Nickelback playing in the black sports car. Suddenly, the music stopped and the door opened and Bella stepped out. I couldn't have moved if I'd wanted to. She looked amazing. She was wearing a sky blue shirt under a white button-up dress shirt, a denim skirt, and low white heels. Her hair had been curled, pulled back in a familiar butterfly barrette. I had to fight the urge just to walk over to her and kiss her.

**BPOV**

I opened my car door and stepped out to find Edward standing next to the silver Volvo staring at me. He looked like he was mildly surprised, at what, I had no idea. I pushed my car door shut with my hip and walked towards the school, completely aware that Edward was following me.

I thought back on my conversation wit Alice this afternoon. She was almost as shocked as I was to learn about Edward being my co-worker. She had no idea he lived out here. She had suggested we do a late dinner after the staff meeting was done. We were going to a little Italian place called Bella Italia. It was a nice place with good food. Alice had taken me there the night I moved here.

I realized suddenly that I had no idea where the meeting was. I froze once I stepped in the school. Oh shit.

"This way Bella. Staff meetings are always in the library." he said walking in the opposite direction of our offices.

He led me to the library where people were gathered. Carlisle and Esme were already there, along with Carmen and Emily. I walked over to an empty chair next to Esme.

"Hello dear." Esme said patting me on the knee.

"Hey Esme." I replied smiling.

I didn't even have to look to know Edward was sitting in the empty chair next to mine. I sighed. Well, I should make the best out of the whole situation. I turned in my seat to look at him. My God, he was still as good looking as ever! "So, what have you been up to over the years?" I asked.

"Graduated from Port Angeles about five and a half years ago. After I graduated, my brother bugged me to move out here with him. Finally I gave in." he said. "What about you Bella? What brought you out here?"

All he did was ask about the last 5 years of my life, and the pain threatened to suffocate me. "Well," I said not knowing how to say it. "I moved to Seattle to be closer to my mom, finished college at the University of Washington. When things fell apart, Alice suggested I move out here to start over again."

**EPOV**

I could hear the pain in her voice as she gave me the short story of how she ended up here. I wanted to give her a hug and hold her until the pain went away, but were at a work meeting that was about to start.

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**A/N: updates are going to slow down now as I'm all caught up with what I'd already had written out. I promise to try and update as fast as possible.**


	9. Friends

**A/N: sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was in a really bad accident with 3 of my best friends, and well, it's a miracle we all walked away fine. Here's chapter 9 for ya. Ps…I do not own twilight**

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The meeting was pretty uneventful. I blushed a dark shade of red when Carlisle had me stand up so he could introduce me to the staff. When the meeting ended, I dug through my purse for my cell phone to text Alice that the meeting was over.

"Bella, what are you up to now that this is over?" Edward asked me.

"I'm going out to dinner with Alice. She wanted to take me out for a celebratory dinner" I said rolling my eyes.

"Have fun with that" Edward said standing.

"Will do" I replied. I typed the text message while I walked to my car.

When I got there I sent the message to Alice and got in my car. I sat there, in the drivers seat for a good couple of minutes. We'd actually almost had a conversation going in there. That was certainly something. Maybe our friendship could be salvaged after all.

When I got to the restaurant I parked in a parking space directly in front of Bella Italia, and got out of my car. I saw Alice leaning on her yellow Porsche a few cars away. I waved at her and she waved back.

"Hey Bells" Alice said.

"Hey Alice" I replied.

"How was your first staff meeting?" she asked animatedly.

"It was fine, rather boring in my opinion." I said.

"Was it awkward having Edward there?" she asked glancing over at me as we made our way into the restaurant.

"Not as bad as I thought it would be." I replied. "We actually had an almost conversation."

She laughed at that. "Two" she said to the hostess working. I didn't realize we'd been standing in front of her talking in our own little world.

"Ok, right this way" she said.

I focused on not getting hurt as she weaved us through tables to a booth. She put the menus on the table and told us our server would be right with us. We sat and looked at the menu.

"What are you gonna get Alice?" I asked her, scanning the menu, making sure they still had what I always ordered here.

"You know what I'm going to get!" she exclaimed laughing.

"I know, I just had to ask." I said laughing at her. We always got the same things when we came here. She got the ziti and I got the mushroom risotto.

"I know you did. So, tell me about this almost conversation." Alice said setting aside her menu and leaning across the table towards me.

"Well, I asked him what he'd been up to for the last 6 years and how he ended up here. He told me that after he graduated Port Angeles, his brother bugged him to move here until he finally gave in. Then he asked me the same thing" I said looking down at my hands on the table.

"I'm sorry. Did you tell him?" Alice asked.

"The short version. I didn't tell him about anything that happened in Seattle with Mike." I said still looking at my hands.

Our server came to the table right at that moment and we placed our orders. The rest of our dinner was spent talking and laughing. Alice was always one to make me laugh and cheer me up when I needed it. She had been my best friend and adopted sister for a number of years now. In fact, she'd moved with me to Seattle for a while. She was one of the few people whose judgment I trusted implicitly.

After we finished, we paid for our meals and walked out to our cars.

"Well, congratulations Bells" Alice said walking over to my car with me.

"Thanks Alice. I will text you when I get home" I said unlocking my car door and opening it.

"No problem home slice" Alice said giving me 2 thumbs up.

I couldn't help but laugh at Alice's nickname for me and her sister. She'd called me that since we watched Juno together at her house one girls night.

**EPOV**

I got home to my empty apartment and crashed on my couch. Bella was still heavily on my mind. She'd stunned me with her beauty as soon as she'd stepped out of her car tonight, then she'd showed me a piece of her heart tonight, possibly without her knowing it. I knew she'd given me the short version of the story of why she'd moved out here. She obviously didn't want to tell me the long story. It was obviously painful for her to remember.

I looked at the picture again. I'd moved it out into the living room so I could see it while I thought about her. She'd always been beautiful to me, but man, she'd gotten prettier over the years. I decided something right then and there. I was going to be her friend until it wasn't enough. I was going to do something that I was too afraid to do 6 years ago.


	10. Alice and Jasper knew!

**Chapter 10**

**APOV**

I returned from dinner with Bella happy, full, but exhausted. I had worked all day, then had to do some running, then had to rush to get to dinner on time. She'd sent me a text message while I was unloading the groceries into their respective places. I'd hurried to finish putting the groceries away before running out the door. I the key to my apartment in the lock and opened the door. There, sitting on the sofa waiting for me was my loving boyfriend, Jasper.

"Hey honey" I said.

"Hey love" Jasper said standing, taking me in his arms for a hug.

"How was your day?" I asked once he released me.

"It was good, busy" He said sitting. I sat beside him, laying my head on his shoulder. "How was your day?"

"It was good for the most part. A lot of paperwork. For some reason, we had a lot of admissions today" I said frowning.

"Ouch. That's always fun" Jasper said. "I'm sorry babe" He said kissing the top of my head.

"Its ok. I'm pretty used to it." I said with a sigh.

"You sound tired" Jasper said

"I am. My day at the hospital was hectic, I had some errands to run, then I had to go meet Bella for dinner." I said.

"Did you and Bella have fun?"

"Yeah we did. Good food, and it was good talking to her."

"Did she say anything bout Edward?"

"Yeah. She's still in a state of shock that they're in the same city, let alone working at the same place."

"So is Edward."

"I take it he had a reaction?"

"Yeah he did. He called me this afternoon to talk about it"

"What did he say?"

"He regrets what happened back home. He wants to make it up to her. He called himself an 'idiot'"

"Why is he being so hard on himself. It's what he thought was right. It may have caused them both pain, but they can work through that."

"Are you sure Bella can?"

"Absolutely. She's a fighter. She's not going to let anything like what happened knock her down. I would be surprised if she didn't bounce back from it."

"I just don't know Alice. This is really serious. It's not just a little thing. For anyone who has gone through it."

"She's came back from worse Jasper."

"Okay babe. I trust you. You know better about what she's come through that I do. I'm out of line here"

"It's ok Jasper. I know you care about her too. It's just I've seen her come through worse. She should be fine." I said looking into his hazel eyes. God, I loved him so much.

We just looked at each other for a while, neither of us saying anything. Sometimes we didn't communicate in words, just stared into each others eyes. Those were some good conversations, because we could just see into the others souls and just have a quiet time. It seemed like hours passed, but in actuality, it had only been a few minutes when I realized that our faces were getting closer. I closed my eyes a half a second before his lips touched mine.

I immediately felt the electricity flowing through my body. I sighed and shifted next to him on the couch as his lips parted beneath mine. I parted my lips to deepen the kiss. He sighed with desire and placed his hands at my hips. I knew where this was headed. I smiled but continued to kiss him passionately. I moaned when his tongue ran along my teeth, begging for entrance to my mouth, I sighed as I let his tongue into my mouth. I felt it dance along every inch of my mouth. My body felt as if it were on fire.

We shifted again, and I realized he had laid us down, me on my back. He came up for air, but continued to kiss my neck, nibbling here and there. I shivered a little in anticipation. He moved his lips all over my neck and collar bone, dipping his tongue under the edge of my shirt, teasing me, making me want him more. He kissed his way back up to my mouth as his hands slipped beneath my shirt at my waist. I shivered more at his touch. I moaned into his open mouth with absolute pleasure. My head was spinning and my body shaking as he ran his hands upwards until he brushed his knuckles against the bottom part of my bra. I arched my back, anticipating where those hands would be in a minute. His fingertips slid under the edge of it, teasing the skin there. I moaned quite loudly, his response was to kiss me even more passionately.

I kissed him back with all the passion in my body, though it wasn't hard, my body was running hotter than the sun, or so it felt like. I knew then that I wasn't the only one completely turned on. I had suddenly felt something pressing at the inside of my leg. I had to stifle the instinctive laugh bubbling up my throat. He shifted so his hips were pressed to mine. I was so turned on by that move that I almost cried out. I knew he noticed because I felt him smile against my lips. He kissed his way to my ear making my back arch painfully further.

"I think we should take this to the bedroom miss Hale." He breathed into my ear.

"Okay" I managed to whisper back without my voice shaking.

Jasper jumped up and picked me up, and carried me bridal style to our bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

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**A/n: sry for not updating in a while, have had some serious writers block. Thank God for my best friend. She gave me the idea for what to do with this chapter. Hope you like it!!! Be nice, this is my first, well you know.**


	11. Bad premonitions come true

A/n: I'm dedicating this chapter to my tiny fan club…RG PD and AO …3 u guys…enjoy!!!

Chapter 11

**BPOV**

(1 week in to the school year)

Things were becoming fairly routine now. Every morning my alarm clock woke me up at 6:30. My morning routine was pretty much set in stone: Get up, turn on coffee pot, cigarette, get ready for work, leave at 7:15. It was routine every day. Today however, had a different feel to it. Since I was younger, I could always tell when something bad was going to happen. I rarely knew what it was, but I always knew it was going to be bad.

My alarm on my I home woke me up to Black Rose by Trapt. I stretched and noticed that my stomach felt off. Not exactly a good sign. I got up out of bed, and started towards the kitchen, but the feeling wouldn't go away. I switched on my coffee pot absentmindedly, my main focus on the feeling in my stomach. I knew something was off, something bad was going to happen today, I could feel it somehow. I wasn't sure how anything bad could happen today. My job at both the school, and the small amount of time I was putting in at the hospital, was going great. Edward and my friendship was pretty much back on track. We talked and hung out when we were at the school. He was back to the Edward I knew back in Forks, sneaking up on me, poking me in the sides because he knew that's where I'm ticklish. I still was not telling him what had happened in Seattle that brought me here, even though he had asked me many times. I just couldn't tell him. I wasn't sure I could heal. There was most definitely a hole in my heart. Alice and I were hanging out whenever we could, which was absolutely a lot of fun. We had always had fun together, and that had never changed. I was overjoyed that Alice and Jasper were still together. They were absolutely perfect for each other, and God knows Jasper and I were close friends too. I loved the fact that 2 of my closest friends had gotten together. I told Alice so!

I was ready at 7:15 and was headed to school. I kept replaying the good times I'd already had in my mind, trying in vain to dispel the bad feeling in my stomach. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. I pulled into the school parking lot next to Edward's silver Volvo. I could see him still sitting in the drivers seat looking down at his lap. I got out of my car and knocked on the glass window on the passengers side door. He rolled it down smiling at me.

"Hey you" I said.

"Hey Bells" He said.

"How goes it?" I asked. It was my way of asking my friends how things were going.

"It goes. A little on the tired side. Haven't been sleeping well again" He said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I said.

"It's ok. Unfortunately, everything I take to help me fall asleep makes me wide awake."

"Oh that sucks!" I said feeling really sorry for him.

"Yeah, well, its just me."

"Yep, that's true"

He laughed while getting out of his car. I smiled on the outside even though the bad feeling had not yet gone away. We walked into the school joking with each other, mostly me confirming what I'd always known, he was strange. He laughed at that and agreed with me. We walked to our respective offices and I sat down at my desk and pulled my files from my brief case. I had a lot of charting to catch up on last night, so I'd taken the files I'd needed home. Luckily I'd kept really good notes on well organized post-its.

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The school day was passing rather uneventfully, nothing out of the ordinary. I looked at the clock on the back wall. It was only 1:30 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, the day was passing rather slowly. Of course, the day I have a really bad off stomach, and time decides to drag, just my luck. I leaned back in my chair, sighed, and closed my eyes. As soon as my eyes shut, the phone on my desk started ringing. Of course.

"Hello" I said.

"Hello Bella, you have visitors in the office for you" Emily said.

"Okay Emily, tell them I will be up in a minute" I said.

I was horribly curious as to who would be visiting me at the school. I knew it wouldn't be Alice, she was working. It's not Jasper, although he hadn't started his shift yet, he was getting ready for work, and he obviously was not with Alice. My parents were still back in Forks, and last I talked to my brother and sister-in-law, they were still in Port Angeles. I had absolutely no idea who this was. I made my way to the office. I stopped short outside the office door. Standing in the office, at the secretary's desk were my biological father, Laurent, and his wife, Irina. The bad feeling in my stomach turned to panic in a hurry.

**A/n: sry so short…just could not put too much into this. I will be posting another chapter right after I put this up. Plz bear with me here.**


	12. Facing Laurent and Irina

**Chapter 12**

The worst feelings in the world started hitting me in waves that threatened to crush me. Every bad memory flooded my head in too much detail. All the pain, all the hurt, all the betrayal. I felt everything as if it'd happened yesterday. I barely got my feet to move, as I walked to the office door. The door suddenly felt like it weighed a million pounds. I pulled it with all my strength open, and stood there glaring at the 2 people who had put me through absolute hell.

"What are you doing here?" I asked folding my arms across my chest.

"We came to talk to you" Laurent said.

"About what?" I asked. There was no way in hell I was letting him off the hook easily. Yet again, I had to stand my ground against him. Not the position I wanted to be in, but I knew if I didn't stay standing strong, he would walk all over me.

"Can we talk outside? This is a personal matter" He asked Emily.

"Um, Bells, do you have any other students today?"

"No I don't. I just need to speak to Carlisle before we can talk" I said.

"Ok, I'll get him for you." Emily said picking up the receiver of the phone.

I stood in front of the desk feeling Laurent and Irina glaring at my back. I ignored their angry glares and focused on how long it was until I could talk to Carlisle and let him know my history with Laurent and Irina. Just as Emily hung up the phone, Carlisle's office door opened. I silently said a prayer in my head thanking God he'd come out right away.

"Bella, come on in" Carlisle said.

I didn't say a word until I had gotten into his office and Carlisle had shut the door.

"Carlisle, I need to talk to you. This is very serious." I said.

"Bella, what is going on? You're shaking"

"Um, well, you see, Laurent is my biological father. I haven't seen or heard from him since basically my sophomore year of high school."

"Okay, why is he here?"

"I don't know. He says he wants to talk to me. I'm worried, possibly about my life. He's already tried to take it once. I don't really want to go through that again. I would feel more comfortable if someone from the office can keep an eye on us through the doors and if something seems to be happening get me out."

"Bella, I promise, we won't let anything happen to you. If you want, I know you and Edward are good friends, I can have him go out with you, if that would make you feel better."

"Sure, if he wants." I said looking down at my hands. I'd have to come up with a damn good reason Edward was going to be involved in this.

I only half listened as Carlisle talked to Edward, convincing him to come up here. I looked around the walls of Carlisle's office. It was nice, and safe. Laurent and Irina couldn't get to me right now, giving me plenty of time to get my thoughts in order. I looked at Carlisle as soon as I heard him put the phone down.

"Edward is on his way. He's very concerned, and is very willing to make sure your safe." He said kindly. "We will watch from in here, if I feel the need to call the cops in, I will."

"Thank you" I said before Edward stepped into the office.

"Hey Carlisle." He said. "Bella, I'm here for you. Whatever happens, I will not let them hurt you."

"Thanks Edward" I said. "I need to talk to you alone before we go out there."

"Ok"

Carlisle left giving us privacy. "Ok" I began. "Knowing Laurent, he's going to want a damn good reason why they can't talk to me alone. Would you have a problem if I told them that I'm dating you now and that what involves me, involves you?"

"I have no problem with that, we will explain it to the staff later."

"Ok, let me do all the talking. I already have a feeling I know what this is about. It has to do with Seattle."

"Ok, well, lets get out there before something really does happen."

"Alrite."

The panicky feeling never left my system as we left the sanctuary of Carlisle's office. I was shaking so bad that I thought I might fall apart. What surprised me is that Edward grabbed my hand into his as I walked past him. He was really acting the part, thank God. I looked at Laurent and Irina, and walked forward with a new determination.

**EPOV**

I listened to what she told me about the 2 people waiting out in the office for her. She was scared, and as much as she was trying to hide it, I could still see it. I'd known her for too long, I knew when she was fine, and I knew when she wasn't, and this was one of those times she wasn't fine at all. I was ready to help her through whatever was about to happen, no matter what. When we stood to go confront her biological father and his wife, I couldn't help but notice how hard she was shaking. She looked like she was going to shake herself apart, remembering what she'd asked me, I took her hand in mine, willing her all my strength. She seemed comforted by it, and I noticed how she'd seemed to be more willing to face them than she did earlier when I walked in. She was going to be all right, I could sense it.

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**A/n: will get to what happens when I can. Hope you like how it is so far.**


	13. Count On Me

**Do not own Twilight or any of the characters…they belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

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**Chapter 13**

**BPOV**

I just looked straight ahead as we went to face my dad and his wife. I couldn't look at them. My heart was pounding in my chest, I'd be lucky if I didn't have a massive coronary before this was all over. Edward's hand was still holding mine, he had quite a grip on it.

We all made our way out of the doors outside. Once outside, Irina went to the parking lot to give my dad time to talk to me alone.

"So, mind telling me why you never told me about being pregnant?" my dad asked looking at me. I felt Edward's eyes on my face as I stared back at my dad. "You know I have a right to know seeing as I'm still your dad."

I felt as if someone had punched me in the stomach. So this was what he decided to bring up. I fought the urge to run for the bathroom and throw up.

"I'm not pregnant dad" I said quietly.

"Why would your nana tell me you're pregnant if you're not? Don't you dare lie to me!" He said angrily. The pain he was causing was killing me. I could barely breathe listening to him. I'd been so careful, and yet, he'd still found out.

"I'm not pregnant dad. I miscarried." I said, tears welling up in my eyes, blurring my vision.

"You're lying to me. You're nana heard you were pregnant and that you'd moved out here, and well, you are here, so why are you denying being pregnant?" He said with a harsh coldness. He shifted his gaze from me to Edward. "Are you the father?"

"No, I'm her boyfriend. We've only been dating for a couple of weeks." Edward said flawlessly. He was so good at this.

"Dad, Edward has nothing to do with this. He had no idea about any of this until you came here to accuse me of not telling you about a pregnancy that no longer exists because of a miscarriage. I know you don't believe me, because everything I say to you is wrong, and whatever your mother or wife tells you is absolute truth." I said letting out everything. "Well, you've picked your side, and well, I'm sorry, no matter what I say, even though its my body, I ought to know what happened to me, and well, your side is completely and totally wrong. I did have a miscarriage, and now I'm no longer pregnant. End of story."

"YOU LITTLE BITCH!" I heard from about 20 feet away from where we were standing. "How dare you speak to your father like that?" Irina said approaching us. "You know damn well you're lying to him. Just because you don't want him in your life, doesn't mean he doesn't get to be in his grandkids life."

No longer was I hurting, I had finally gotten furious.

"You know what? I'm working here, and I need to get back to work, and you need to leave the property before we call the police and have you removed, as well as press charges of harassment against you." I said straightening my back.

"Excuse me?" Irina asked, folding her arms across her chest, looking at me like she couldn't believe I had just said that.

"You heard her loud and clear. If you do not remove yourself from the property now, we will call the police to have you forcibly removed, and along with that, we will file charges of harassment with restraining orders against you." Edward said reinforcing me.

"Fine, but this isn't over" My dad said walking away with Irina.

I instantly went numb. I couldn't move when Edward turned to go back into the school. They couldn't have given up that easily. This was far from over.

**?POV**

I walked away from the school fuming. How dare she. How dare she lie, especially about something like this. That boyfriend obviously was covering for her. He is a guy, he was holding her hand. Obviously he was involved in this pregnancy thing. He is the father of her baby, but neither of them would admit it. I pulled out my cell to see if my lawyer's number was still in there. They would need a damn good lawyer. I was determined to fight for this, to make her look like an idiot in front of the world, just as she had done to me.

**EPOV**

We walked back into the school to the office where Emily and Carlisle had been watching on the monitors at her desk. I glanced at Bella, she was white as a ghost. I got her inside and insisted she sit, when Carlisle came around the desk.

"Bella, are you ok?" Carlisle asked her.

"Uh" was what she responded.

"I think she's in shock Carlisle" I said feeling her head with my hand.

"Emily, call Esme and have her come down here to check Bella out" He said. "Bella, can you squeeze my hand, let me know if you can hear me and respond."

I watched and waited. She didn't squeeze his hand. I was right, she was in shock. I started to get impatient with Esme. She was taking forever, and shock was not to be treated lightly. The door opened and Esme walked in, past me, to Bella. I breathed a sigh of relief. I watched her with Bella, checking her pulse, temperature, trying to get her to respond. She was sweating by this point, and the paleness had gone away, but now it was flushed bright red. She seemed to be in a daze. She was a classic case of Acute Stress Reaction.

"I should get her to my office, she needs to rest for a little bit." Esme said. "Edward, you're strong, would you carry her?"

"Yeah, I'll carry her to your office." I said walking over to her. By this time she was slumped over, breathing hard, and almost hyperventilating. "Bella, don't hyperventilate. You're going to pass out if you don't breathe normally. Bella, breathe."

Somewhere, her mind heard what I'd said, and slowly her breathing was starting to slow down to normal. Finally she was taking good, normal sized breaths. I put one knee on the bench beside her, and slid one arm behind her neck, and the other behind her knees, and lifted her up. She was light, so she was really easy to carry. I carried her from the office to Esme's in no time flat. I laid her on the hard mattress and stepped back to let Esme to her.

"She should be fine. Her heart rate is coming back down." Esme said.

I looked at her face, her eyes were closed, but the color in her face was fading, and she was looking like her normal self again. She looked so beautiful, but so delicate laying there broken. I couldn't help but breathe another sigh of relief that she was going to be fine. A moan from her brought me out of my thoughts. I looked at her, she'd moved her head and opened her eyes.

"Bella, how are you feeling?" Esme asked her.

"My head is hurting and I feel sick." She said staring up at the ceiling. Little did she know that I could read her emotions as they passed across her face. Then she rolled her head to the side and looked me in the eye.

"I'm sorry" She said, tears welling up in her big brown eyes.

"For what?" I asked.

"For having to hear that. I feel awful about pulling you into this." She said, a tear sliding silently down her cheek.

"It's ok Bella. I'm glad you asked me to be there. Especially if you were afraid for your life. Don't ever think you can't come to me for help." I said, and I meant it.

"Thank you. I don't deserve a friend like you" she said, looking back up at the ceiling.

"Yeah you do. You're an amazing person Bella. I can only imagine how hard it was to stand up to your biological father when he's bringing up something painful, and throwing it in your face."

"I would like to tell you about what happened." She said looking me in the eye again. I could see the sadness and pain in her eyes, but also strength enough to let me in on why her eyes were always tinged in sadness.

"Esme, could you give us a little bit of privacy so we can talk alone, please" Bella said to Esme.

"Sure Bella. Take all the time you need, I'm going to the office to talk to Carlisle." Esme said.

"Thanks"

"No problem Bella" Esme said closing the door behind her.

"Edward, I want you to know about everything that happened in Seattle." She said turning on her side, her back towards me, curled up in a ball on the hard plastic mattress.

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**A/n: Hope you liked it…inspiration from a song: Count on Me by Default. If you get a chance it's a good song.**


	14. Save You

**A/n: sorry I haven't updated in a while…I just got a full-time job and the training doesn't get out til midnight. Hope y'all like it.**

**Don't own Twilight**

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**Chapter 14**

**BPOV**

I stared at one spot on the wall, my back towards Edward. I was so ashamed of myself. I couldn't look at him when I told him what had happened to me. All he knew is that I'd had a miscarriage thanks to my biological father and his wife. It was the sole reason I was laying on this mattress, about to confess everything to someone who was like an adopted brother to me.

"Edward, do you remember I moved to Seattle after that summer?" I asked.

"Yeah" he said.

"I never told you who I found out was a student at the University of Washington. I started there with Alice and found out that Mike was also a student there." I said. I could hear the sadness saturated in my voice. "Do you remember me telling you about Mike?"

"He was the one who broke your heart when you were 18 wasn't he? The one that you lived with."

"That'd be him." I said sighing. "Anyways, we were going to school together there, and had somehow managed to be friends. Well, what I thought would stay a friendship soon turned into something more. We ended up dating again, and everything was great, he'd really changed. Well, one night he proposed to me. It was so romantic. Candlelight, soft music, he got on one knee, I said 'yes' and cried, so on and so forth. Six months later, I found out I was pregnant. We were so happy. We went forward with the wedding planning, postponing the date until 6 months after our baby was born so I could be able to have alcohol. When I was about 4 months pregnant, Mike came home and I was in severe pain. I was in so much pain I couldn't move. He stayed with me in our bedroom until I started bleeding, then he rushed me to the emergency room at the hospital. We were there for a good couple of hours before they got me into a room, and I found out I'd miscarried. Mike and I cried for hours. We didn't even sleep that night, just laid in bed and stared at each other when there were no more tears left to cry. The next day we sat down and talked, and decided to still go through with the wedding. So, we went on for another 2 months before we realized that we were growing apart. A couple of weeks later, we ended our engagement and I moved out here near Alice."

I laid there for a couple minutes listening to the sound of nothing but silence, only broken by our breathing. I stared at the same spot on the wall that was getting blurrier by the second. I soon felt the burning tears streaming down my cheeks. I wiped a couple away with my fingertips, but more just replaced them.

"I'm sorry Bella" Edward said quietly, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Are you ok?"

The warmth of his hand I could feel through my shirt. It was comforting, but made the tears fall faster. Then, I lost it. Hard, body shaking sobs escaped me. I was sobbing. I felt him sit on the side of the mattress. I felt the hand that had been on my shoulder start stroking my hair. I covered my face with my hands, embarrassed beyond belief that I was crying in front of him. He just sat silently behind me letting me cry, stroking my hair.

Slowly I started to calm down, my tears subsiding.

"I'm sorry Edward. You shouldn't have had to see that." I said.

"It's ok Bella. I'm here for you." he said.

"I'm so ashamed of myself!" I said, sad.

"Bella, there's nothing to be ashamed of. You fell in love, were going to get married before a tragedy pulled it apart. That's life. Bella, it's ok to be sad about it. I'm surprised you have handled it as well as you've had." He said, sounding rather sincere. "You are an incredible person Bella. You're stronger than you think you are, and I'm here when you can't be strong, and so is Alice, and Jasper. We do care about you Bella, and really, we love you, a lot."

A knock on the door was the only warning I had. Esme came in and looked at us.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. They are back. They are searching rooms looking for Bella." She said.

My heart froze in my chest as she continued.

"Edward, Carlisle wants you to hide her somewhere so they can't get to her. He's calling the police to come arrest them."

"Okay, I'll get her to my office and take care of her." He said.

I was frozen the way I was, so Edward just scooped me up and carried me to his office to hide me from the 2 most dangerous people to me.

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**I know I left it hanging a little. I do this on purpose. I admit it. Song inspiration: Save You by Simple Plan. Thanks to every one of you who reads this and is enjoying it, you are the reason!!! Thanks for your support!!!**


	15. Had Enough

_**A/n: Sorry it's been so long. It has been crazy with a new job and all. This is the first time I've been able to write in so long. I'm hoping to find more time now that I'll only be working til eleven. Hope you like it.**_

_**Do not own Twilight**_

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_**Chapter 15**_

_**EPOV**_

_Esme's voice rang in my ears. They were back, possibly to harm Bella. I could not, would not let that happen, not on my watch. I looked at her laying there on the mattress. She seemed to freeze as soon as the words were out of Esme's mouth. She wasn't even breathing. I checked her for a pulse before scooping her up into my arms to carry her to my office._

_She was light as a feather as I lifted her up. "Bella, breathe!" I said starting to panic when I hadn't felt her start breathing again. "You will be safe. I'm won't let anything happen to you."_

_I breathed a sigh of relief when I felt her start breathing again. But once she started breathing, she started to sob and hyperventilate at the same time. I picked up my pace so that I was just about running down the hall to my office. I didn't want to risk Laurent and Irina seeing her, and I wanted to get her into my office so I could take care of her, and protect her._

_As soon as I got into my office I looked at her face. "Bella, I need you to get under my desk and hide yourself. Do you think you can do that while I make it look like I went home?" She nodded and I set her on her feet, making sure she was steady on her feet before I took care of shutting the lights off and locking the door. Amazingly I got it done within seconds, and I was under the desk with Bella. She was curled up into my side crying softly. I relished the feeling, and the urge to keep her safe got that much stronger._

_Suddenly, angry pounding at the door made both of us jump. My arms instantly went around her and held her tight to my side. She had started shaking, and I was frozen just like this. I could hear him yelling._

"_I know you guys are in there! Don't make me come through this door!" He said._

_She cringed further into my side, and my arms held her even tighter. There was no possible way for him to break down the door. We were pretty safe. I started hoping the cops were almost here._

_He was still banging on the door yelling when my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I checked my phone to see that I had a text message from Carlisle. I opened the text message "The cops are here. They have them in handcuffs. It's safe. Bring her to the office. They want to talk to her._" It was silent in the office and there was no longer any pounding or screaming coming from the doorway. I looked down at Bella. Her breathing was perfectly even, she had fallen asleep. I almost laughed, but after what she'd been through in the last hour and a half, she was more than likely drained. I hated waking her up, but I gently shook her shoulder.

"Bella, you need to wake up." I said. She came awake and looked at me with sleepy, swollen, red eyes.

"I'm sorry. I relaxed a little too much after they stopped." She said.

"It's ok. Carlisle texted me. He said that the police have arrested them, and they want to talk to you. He wants us to go to the office." I said.

"Ok" She said very hesitantly.

"Bella, no one is going to hurt you. There are police here, and I won't let them lay a hand on you. I'll be right there with you" I said, meaning every word I said when I promised her that they wouldn't lay a hand on her. If they did, they'd be feeling my fist when it connected with their face.

"Are you sure Edward? You don't have to do that." She said looking down at her hands.

"Yes. Bella, I will be here for you. I promise." I said.

"Ok then, lets go talk to the police." She said.

"Ok"

**BPOV**

I couldn't help but feel safe curled up into Edward's side while we hid under his desk. There was a sense of rightness about it. I'd heard my dad pounding on the door and yelling that he was going to break it down if we didn't just come out. I was shaking, but I wasn't really scared because I was in his arms. I didn't realize that I'd fallen asleep until I felt him gently shaking my shoulder.

"Bella, you need to wake up" he said gently.

I looked up at him, my eyes burning from crying so much. "I'm sorry, I relaxed a little too much after they stopped." I explained. I was slightly embarassed that I'd fallen asleep in his arms. What must he think of me for that one.

"It's ok. Carlisle texted me. He said that the police have arrested them, and they want to talk to you. He wants us to go to the office." He said.

I felt relieved when he told me that the police had arrested them. "Ok." I said, still feeling a little hesitant. I didn't want to get my hopes up too far.

"Bella, no one is going to hurt you. There are police here, and I won't let them lay a hand on you. I'll be right there with you" He said, and he sounded so sincere that I almost believed him, but the doubt in my heart was too strong to deny.

"Are you sure Edward? You don't have to do that." I said, looking at my hands.

"Yes. Bella, I will be here for you. I promise." He said.

I don't know how, but that dissipated all the fear and doubt in my heart and mind. "Ok then, lets go talk to the police." I said, ready to face them with Edward by my side.

"Ok" He said taking his arms from around me and grabbing my hand.

We left the sanctuary of his office, headed to see Carlisle and the police. I was nervous as all hell, but I was hoping that everything would turn out okay. We rounded the corner, and I looked out the glass doors leading outside and saw them being escorted to two police cars parked right outside the doors. They were in handcuffs, for which I was very grateful. I looked in the office where there were two cops talking to Carlisle, Carmen, and Emily. I shuddered to think that I'd have to tell the whole story of the horrifying event again, but a gentle squeeze on my hand from Edward eased that. Just like that I was able to walk with confidence into the office to relay the story to the cops who would make sure my biological father and his wife were taken care of so that I would be safe.

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**Hope you guys liked it, I tried making it a little longer. I changed the format for naming my chapters, they are going to be the titles of songs used for inspiration for the content of the chapter. This chapter was inspired by: Had Enough by Breaking Benjamin. If you want to make suggestions for future chapters, I will try to fit them in.**


	16. You're Not Sorry

**Hello once again…sorry its taken me so long to update. Life has gotten so crazy with everything going on in real life. Thank you for putting up with my lack of updating. On with the chapter.**

**Do not own Twilight!!!**

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**Chapter 16**

**BPOV**

I felt safer within the walls of the school seeing Laurent and Irina in handcuffs, sitting in the back of police cars. Unfortunately, I still had to relive what happened as I told the cops of their harassment. Somehow, Edward was still giving me his support as he walked by my side to face them. I don't know what I ever did right to deserve a friend as loyal as him. It was like the lost years had had no affect on our relationship whatsoever. He was still as supportive and loyal as ever. He opened and held the office door open for me and I stepped into the main office. I dropped my head instantly, as I just could not look at Carlisle, Carmen, or Emily. I was too embarrassed at what they had done. Edward squeezed my hand to let me know that he was still with me.

"Bella" Carlisle said after clearing his throat.

"Yes?" I said, still looking at the carpet beneath my feet.

" We are very sorry about what has happened" He said.

It took my mind a minute to register what he had just said. It just couldn't be true that he wasn't mad at me. After all, Laurent was my biological father.

"Thank you Carlisle" I said.

"Bella, this is not your fault. There is no need for you to feel bad for us. We are concerned about how you are feeling and how you are handling everything. I am perfectly willing to give you whatever amount of time off necessary to work through all of this." He said.

I looked up at Carlisle's face. His face was nothing but sincere as he said that he was willing to give me some time off so that I could work through this. I couldn't believe that he would be willing to do that for me. "Thank you so much Carlisle." I said finally finding my voice.

"You are very welcome Bella" He said. "Ok, the police want to speak with you. I have the arresting officer in my office waiting. He wants to get a statement from you about everything that was said to you, and ask you about pressing harassment charges. Just to inform you, the school will be pressing charges of harassment against him, but if you want ones of your own, that is fine."

"Ok" I said swallowing my panic. They wanted me to remember everything they said to me. Unfortunately, while when it came to some things I had an almost photographic memory, I was very absent minded. I tended to forget a lot of things. Especially when I was stressed out, as demonstrated in high school. Most of the time, I'd forget my head if it wasn't attached to my body. I took a deep breath steadying myself, looking at the closed door to Carlisle's office. "Ok Carlisle. I'm ready to get this over with."

"Alrite Bella. Edward, they want to talk to you too, so you cannot go in with Bella." Carlisle said.

"Ok, I understand" He said, and I could've sworn I heard him sigh.

He released my hand and I walked to Carlisle who placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "We'll be out in a few minutes Edward, make yourself comfortable."

I took one last deep breath, as that's all it took to reach the door to his office. Carlisle opened the door for me, and then he followed me into it. I saw the officer of the law sitting in the same chair I'd been sitting in a while ago. I walked towards him and he stood up to face me.

"Officer Black, this is Bella Swan. The employee directly related to the event." Carlisle said.

"Miss Swan" The officer greeted me holding out his hand.

"Officer" I said nervously shaking his hand.

Carlisle walked around and sat in the chair behind his desk and I took the other empty chair next to officer Black.

"Miss Swan, I can imagine how difficult this must be for you, but I need you to give me a statement as to what happened with as much detail as you can remember." He said.

"Well, I was sitting in my office working on some paperwork, and I wasn't feeling good when Emily, the school secretary called me and told me that I had visitors waiting for me in the office." I said.

"Did she indicate names when she called you?" He asked.

"No sir, she did not." I said.

"Ok, and then what happened?"

"I walked to the office, and I saw Laurent and Irina through the doors to the office."

"So you recognized them right off?"

"Yes sir."

"How do you know them?"

"Laurent is my biological father, and Irina is his wife he married when I was 11."

"Okay, any history of past abuse?"

"Yes sir" I said the pain of my past threatening to crush me.

"Can you give me a brief background of what happened?"

"Once he married Irina, he became mentally, verbally, and sometimes physically abusive. He once tried to kill me by strangling me." I said, tears starting to run down my cheeks.

"Okay, and what happened?"

"I never told anyone about his attempt on my life, but my grandparents, Charlie and Sue were granted custody of me, and I was raised by them throughout my high school and college years."

"Okay, and had you remained in contact with your father?"

"I had tried my freshman year of high school, and part way through my sophomore year, but that Christmas, he decided that he didn't want anything to do with me, and I hadn't heard from him since, until I tried having an e-mail relationship with him about 5 years later."

"Ok"

"He again, after about 6 months, he decided once again, that he didn't want to have any sort of contact with me, and I gave up. I haven't spoken to him since beginning of December after turning 19."

"Ok, so you have not had any sort of contact with him since then?"

"None whatsoever."

"How did he find out you were here?"

"His mother. My family encouraged me to at least have some sort of relationship with her seeing as she also is my grandmother."

"So you told her that you were moving out here?"

"I never told her directly. I spent my years living in a small town where everybody knows everyone else, so my move out here got back to her somehow."

"So there was someone connected with you're dad's mom and she found out?"

"Yes sir. I don't know who as I was very careful with that information. But obviously I wasn't careful enough"

"Okay, and what did he come to your place of employment to talk to you about?"

"He wanted to talk to me, or rather accuse me of the fact that I was pregnant, but I miscarried. He thinks that I'm still pregnant and that I'm lying to him, and that he has a right to know about my pregnancy because he is still my father."

"Did you inform him of your miscarriage?"

"Yes sir, I did, but he refused to believe me. I had filled Carlisle on our history, and he had another staff member go with me to talk to them, and my father accused the staff member of being the father of my 'baby' and when the staff member denied it, he accused him of lying to him."

"And then what happened?"

"Irina, his wife who I thought had left to give me and my father privacy walked up to us and told me not to talk to my father like that, because I had snapped and had confronted him about how he had never ever believed me, and that he stands against me. She told me that I was not to speak to my dad that way and then called me a 'bitch'."

"How did you react to this?"

"I stated that I was trying to work, and that if they didn't leave the property that I would have harassment charges and a restraining order placed on them. They questioned what I'd said, and the staff member with me reinforced what I'd said. Then they said that this wasn't over and walked away."

"Ok, did they indicate that they'd be coming back?"

"No they did not. I was in the nurses office recovering from shock when the school nurse informed me that they were back and that they were searching the school for me."

"So, you were in the nurses office while they searched for you?"

"Me, the school nurse, and the staff member that had been outside with me were in the nurses office when we heard they were back, but then I was hid from my dad."

"Where were you hiding?"

"With the school gym teacher. In his office under his desk. He made it look like he'd gone home for the day and locked his office door."

"Ok miss Swan. Seems that I've got all the information I need for the statement. Would you personally like to press charges of harassment against them? If you would, they would be kept in police custody for 24 hours. It would give you time to get a restraining order set up and active for when the were released."

"I would like to press charges of harassment on them. How would I go about doing a restraining order?"

"Go to the courthouse, fill out the paperwork, have them fax me over the papers you fill out, I will look them over, sign them, and fax them back along with the police report. That will speed up the process to get you in to see a judge. He will ask you some questions and, then he'll sign the restraining order, give you a copy, and then you can ask them to have the official one delivered to us, and we will serve them at the station."

"Would it help if I brought a witness?"

"If you can get the staff member that was out there for the whole exchange to be with you, then by all means, have him be there. It will help you out, as well as give you the moral support I'm sure you need right now."

"I'm more than happy to let him go with you to the courthouse" Carlisle, who had been silent through the entire interview, said.

"Thank you Carlisle" I said.

"Okay. Well, here is my card with my phone and fax number. Remember to have them fax the paperwork you fill out to me. If you have any more questions or need anything, feel free to give me a call."

"Thank you officer Black"

We all stood, and I shook the officer's hand. Carlisle held the door open for me, and I walked out of Carlisle's office. Edward was still there, sitting forward with his elbows on his knees, and his forehead in his hands. I felt so bad for him. He looked up when he heard us come out of the office. He looked at me and gave me a small smile, which I returned.

"Edward, it's your turn" Carlisle said.

"Good luck Edward" I said. "It's not too bad, thank goodness"

"Thanks Bella." He said walking past me into Carlisle's office.

I watched as the door closed behind them. I breathed a sigh of relief, and sank down hard on the bench. I was so drained, in more ways than one. At least now things could be taken care of, and I could finally do what I should've done over 10 years ago. From the day I turned 13 until now, I'd had to deal with what he'd done to me, always fearing that one day, he'd get back at me. I was now 26 years old, and I was having no more of his bull shit. I was going to take care of it so that I would never have to worry about him again!

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**Hope you guys liked it. I know it's longer than anything I've written so far, but there was a lot to this chapter that I wanted to get in. **

**The inspiration for this chapter is: You're Not Sorry by Taylor Swift. Maybe, I'll update again, and post another chapter, but I have stuff to to before then, so I might I might not. **

**Thank you to everyone of you who reads this. As I've said before: You are my reason!!! Let me know what you think as I LOVE feedback. I wanna know how I'm doing.**


	17. Never Too Late

_**I decided to do 2 in a row today. I must love you guys or something. I hope this makes up for the long time in between updates!!! Forgive me??**_

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_**Chapter 17**_

_**EPOV**_

_I walked out of Carlisle's office and saw Bella sitting on the bench in the office with her head in her arms. I hoped to hell she hadn't been crying. I had to relive those horrible moments when her father and his wife nearly attacked her. I'd given my statement to the officer in Carlisle's office. There were so many charges against him right now that I'd opted out of another charge of harassment. He was already getting 2 of them filed against him, plus a restraining order. I sat down next to Bella on the bench and put my hand on her back. Her breathing was even and relaxed. She'd fallen asleep again._

"_Bella, it's over" I said._

"_Mmm" She hummed._

"_Bella!" Carlisle said sharply enough that she instantly woke up._

"_Oh dear! I can't believe I fell asleep!" She said turning a bright shade of red that almost matched her swollen eyes._

"_It's ok Bella. You've had one hell of a day" Carlisle said._

"_Miss Swan, I will be processing the paperwork as soon as I get back to the precinct. Don't worry about anything, we will make sure you are safe here." The officer said to Bella. I couldn't help wondering if he was flirting with her a bit. I couldn't believe how angry that made me feel._

"_Thank you very much." She said politely._

_Then officer Black left, leaving just me, Carlisle, Bella, and Emily in the office. I looked at Bella whose brown eyes looked dead. The room was completely silent as all of us took stock of what had just happened._

"_Well, I think I'm going to go get my stuff and get to the courthouse to take care of the restraining order." Bella said standing up._

"_Bella, I'm going with you as a witness and a friend" I said standing as well._

"_You don't have to Edward. I can do this alone. Don't feel like you have to go or anything." She said looking down._

"_I want to come with you. Stop arguing with me. Oh, and I'm driving too." I said._

_She groaned and swung her head to look at me. "I'm perfectly capable of driving" She said._

"_I know you are. I just don't feel right making you drive yourself. You've been through enough today without having to deal with traffic." I said. I knew how stubborn she was, but damn she just was not going to let me help her. She was so ashamed of what happened that she just couldn't stand to be helped._

"_Ok, I will let you drive me if it makes you feel better" She said sighing._

"_Bella, it will make all of us feel better if you had someone go with you and drive you. We don't want anything more to happen to you." Carlisle said._

"_Thank you all so much." She said, tears again welling up in her brown eyes._

"_It's not a problem Bella." Emily said. "We are a family here, and family takes care of family."_

"_Okay." Was all she managed to get out before tears started streaming down her cheeks._

"_You two go take care of business, I will see you tomorrow Edward. Bella, don't worry about coming in. Take at least tomorrow off, then we'll have a phone conference and decide how long you need to take off." Carlisle said._

"_Okay Carlisle. I will talk to you tomorrow then." She said._

"_All right Bella. Hope everything goes okay." He said laying a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing._

"_Thank you" She said._

"_All right, lets get you to the courthouse." I said._

_We walked to her office so she could get her things. Once she had locked down her office, we went to mine and did the same. I pulled my car keys out of the pocket of my jacket and walked with her to my Volvo. I opened the passenger side door and held it for her, and she got in. I hurried to the drivers side and jumped in. I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, headed towards the courthouse._

"_Thank you so much for going with me" She said quietly._

"_It's not a problem Bella. I told you I'd be there for you through this." I said._

"_Can I make it up to you?" She asked._

"_Depends on how." I joked._

"_Can I make you dinner?"_

"_Sure" I said. I wasn't one to turn down a free meal._

"_All right. When we come back so I can get my car, I will stop at the grocery store to get what I was going to make myself for dinner."_

"_Okay. What were you going to make for dinner?"_

"_A nacho dip my mom used to make. She gave me the recipe a few years ago." She said._

"_Cool, sounds good to me" I said, my stomach growling just hearing about it._

"_Do you mind if I make a phone call on the way?"_

"_No Bella, I don't mind."_

_She pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed the phone. I kept my eyes on the road ahead and let her talk to whomever she was on the phone with._

_**BPOV**_

_I pulled out my phone to call Alice. I knew she would want to know what happened. She would flip when she found out though. I pressed the button on my phone that would dial her number and put the phone up to my ear. I listened to her phone ring twice before she picked up._

"_Hey home skillet. What up?" She said. Yep, I was talking to the right person._

"_Hey Al. I need to talk to you." I said._

"_Bella, what is going on? You sound awful."_

"_I wanted to let you know what happened to me today."_

"_Bella, what is up? Do I need to kick someone's ass?"_

"_A couple of peoples actually" I said amused for the first time._

"_Ooh" She said sounding way too excited about that._

"_My biological father and his wife showed up at work today." I said calmly._

"_WHAT" She yelled in my ear. I had to hold the phone away from my ear so I wouldn't go deaf._

"_Yeah, he showed up to bring up my pregnancy."_

"_What did he say?"_

"_He asked me why I didn't tell him about the pregnancy seeing as he is still my father, and that I was lying when I told him that I was no longer pregnant because of the miscarriage."_

"_Wow, that bastard!"_

"_That's not even the best part Al. His wife called me a bitch."_

"_Yeah Bella, because you really are a bitch." I could hear the sarcasm dripping through her voice._

"_I know right" I couldn't help but laugh. Alice had the uncanny ability to do that. When I just wanted to curl up and cry my eyes out, she could always make me laugh and forget my troubles for a minute._

"_Oh absolutely. What are you up to right now?"_

"_Edward is taking me to get a restraining order against Laurent and Irina."_

"_Ooh fun"_

"_Oh yeah Al. Just what I want to be doing." I said rolling my eyes. "Do you and Jasper want to come over for dinner and we can talk about this more."_

"_Hell yeah we'll be there. What are you cooking?"_

"_My mom's nacho dip"_

"_We are so there! I love that stuff!" Alice squealed. Again, I had to pull the phone away from my ear so as not to go deaf._

"_Okay Alice. I will call you when I get home. Edward will be joining us as well."_

"_Nice. It'll be good to see him again."_

"_Yeah. It's been a long time since we were all together." I said sighing._

"_Yeah, well hey, I will let you go so you can take care of that restraining order. I will talk to you later. Call me when you get home."_

"_I will Alice. Talk to you later." I said hanging up my phone as Edward found a parking spot in a parking garage attached to the courthouse building._

_I took a deep breath as I unhooked my seat belt and put my cell phone in my purse._

"_Everything is going to be okay Bella" Edward said placing his hand on my knee. "I'll be right there with you. I promise."_

"_Thank you Edward. For everything. You didn't have to." I said looking him straight in the eye._

"_I'm happy and more than willing to be there for you anytime. Now, lets go take care of business!"_

_I climbed out of my car feeling better since this whole ordeal started. I had Edward by my side supporting me the entire time, and I was looking forward to having all my friends who were more like family to dinner tonight. Tonight would be a great ending to a horrible nightmare of a day._

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_**It's not as long as my last chapter I know, but I hope you liked it anyways. I got more Alice in there for ya.**_

_**I dedicate this chapter to my friends who are insanely supportive and amazing. I love you sooo much. Thanks for being there for me.**_

_**To those of you who read and enjoy my story: You are my reason and I can't thank you enough for reading.**_

_**Song inspiration: Never Too Late by Three Days Grace.**_


	18. All Black

**Hey all!!! I'm really working on my updating time. I have tomorrow off of work, so I am going to take the time tonite to update. Thank you so much for reading!!! On with the Chapter!!!**

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**Chapter 18**

**BPOV**

It amazingly didn't take as long at the courthouse as I'd anticipated. Thanks to officer Black, it'd only taken a little over an hour. Edward had been there with me the whole time, and had given me his support, for which I was very thankful for. After we'd gotten done there, he'd taken me back to the school so I could get my car. I had to go to the grocery store so I could get the ingredients to make dinner. I was having a dinner with my friends that had become my family. I was sure it'd be pretty interesting to have them all together again.

I pulled into a parking spot in the garage to my condo and pulled out the grocery bags in the backseat of my car. I'd given Edward the address to my condo so he could go home and change for dinner. At that moment my cell phone buzzed to let me know I had a text message. I opened my cell and looked to see that it was from Edward. _Hey Bells, just finished changing. On my way to your place. See you in a few. ~Edward._

I snapped my phone shut and walked to my door. I shoved the key in the lock and let myself in. As soon as I got in the door, I kicked off my heels and went to play the answering machine. It beeped announcing my messages.

"Hey Bella, it's Emmett. Hope all is going good for ya sis. Rosalie wanted me to talk to you about possibly us bringing the kids out for a visit. Let me know what you think. Rosalie says 'hi' and Zach and Josh wanted me to tell you 'hi' and they love you auntie Bella. Give me a call back when you can. Love ya."

"Hey Bella, calling to see how you're doing. Hope all is well. Talk to you sometime. I guess you got out of work kinda late. Not a problem. Oh yeah, if you haven't figured out, it's me, Mike. Talk to you soon. Bye!"

The answering machine beeped off and I sighed. I would definitely be calling Emmett back tonight after dinner. I hope they could come out over Christmas break. I went into my bedroom to change out of my work clothes. I just left them on the floor and changed into my favorite blue jeans and a black tank top. I wanted to be comfortable but still look presentable for my company. I grabbed the chord-less phone from my room and dialed Alice's number.

"Hello?"

"Hey Al, I'm home." I said.

"Hey there. All right, we will be there in a few minutes. Jasper is in the shower." She said.

"Okay. Edward is on his way right now. I'm going to be starting dinner after I have a cigarette. After today, I really need one." I said looking at my open pack of cigarettes on the table by the balcony door.

"All right, well, we will see you soon. I just heard the water stop running, so it won't be long now."

"Ok, see you soon."

I hung up the phone with Alice and turned to my head out to my balcony for a cigarette when there was a knock on my door. That was most likely Edward. I walked to my front door and opened it. It was, as I thought, Edward.

"You should consider yourself lucky you're not someone else." I said jokingly.

"Oh yeah? And why is that?" He asked laughing.

"Because I was just headed out to my balcony for a smoke." I said.

"Oh well, don't let me stop you." He said.

"Feel free to join me out there, or you can make yourself comfortable in here." I said gesturing to the couch in the living room facing the TV.

"I'll come out with you. I don't mind." He said smiling.

"All right" I said. I could not stop the smile that spread all over my face as soon as I turned to the door to my balcony. It was instinctive, even after all this time. I grabbed a cigarette out of the open pack next to the door, and the lighter next to it.

I slid the glass door open and slid on a pair of black flip flops. I stepped out on my balcony and stretched my arms over my head. It felt so good to be in my own home after such a day. I sat in one of the padded chairs and Edward took the other one. I rested my feet against the railing as I lit my smoke.

"Feels good to be home." I sighed.

"I bet. I'm so sorry about your day." He said turning to look at me.

"It's okay. It's my father, I'm not all that surprised really."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It's not the first time he's tried to wreck my happiness with him out of my life."

"I'm sorry"

"Yeah, well, he's paying for it now."

"Yeah. Definitely a good thing."

"Yes Edward, it is."

We sat in silence while I finished smoking, and then we headed back in. Just as we stepped in the door, my doorbell rang. I answered the door to Alice and Jasper.

"Good timing Al. I was just getting ready to start dinner."

"Okay, I'll help. The guys will keep each other occupied."

"I'm sure they will" I laughed.

"Hey now!" Edward exclaimed.

"One would think they don't want us in the kitchen." Jasper said.

"I think you're right Jasper" Edward said laughing.

"You guys go visit. Bella and I will handle dinner preparations." Alice said shaking her head at the two guys.

"If it makes you feel better, I will let you guys set the table." I said.

"Fine with me" Jasper said grinning.

"One would think he's forced to be in the kitchen with me when I cook." Alice said rolling her eyes, following me to the kitchen.

"I know right" I said laughing.

"How are you feeling?" She asked once we set foot in the kitchen.

"I'm okay. Nerves are starting to wear off." I said opening the refrigerator to get the ground beef out. "Alice, can you get the rice out of the cupboard next to where I keep my dishes?"

"Sure thing." I heard her rummaging through my cupboards until she found the rice. I booted up my laptop where I kept the recipe.

"Do you want to talk about what happened today?" She asked carefully.

"I need a drink first." I said walking over to the refrigerator. "Want one?"

"Sure. I'm always up for a drink or two." Alice laughed.

"Yeah, I know." I pulled a bottle of red wine out for me and the bottle of Captain Morgan I kept for when Alice was over, and a can of coke.

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"Oh come on Alice. I know what you drink. How could I not?"

"I know. I just had to pick on you."

"When don't you?" I laughed.

Once our drinks were in our hands I started to get to work on dinner. I had my mind completely off what happened today, and for that I was thankful. My only thought was how I was going to sleep tonight. We worked in silence, both of us working on something towards dinner. When we were putting the finishing touches on dinner I went into the living room.

"Hey, would one of you guys set the table for us?"

"Sure thing." Edward said.

"Thanks" I said walking back into the kitchen to pull out the dishes they would need. I handed them off to Jasper, who had come into the kitchen to kiss Alice and grab a beer out of the refrigerator. He smiled at me and nearly ran out of the kitchen with the bowls and spoons.

"Goodness Alice. I swear he's afraid of the kitchen." I said shaking my head after him.

"You would swear he's forced to slave away in our kitchen at home." She said rolling her eyes.

"I take it he stays as far away from yours as he does mine?"

"Oh yeah." Alice said looking at me.

"Wow. Lets get dinner out there before we get blamed for taking too long with the food" I said.

We took the food to the dining room and nearly doubled over laughing at the guys who sat ramrod straight in their chairs looking at the huge bowl in my hands. I wondered if that had been how they'd looked at their parents when they were hungry.

"Finally!" Jasper exclaimed. "It smelled so good, and you were torturing us by taking too long"

"Jasper!" Alice exclaimed.

I had to laugh. "Jasper, cooking takes time. Were you never taught what patience is?" I asked really fucking amused.

"I doubt it" was the response I got from Alice.

"Hey now" Edward's amused voice came pretty much out of nowhere. "Lets not debate anymore. I'm hungry."

Alice and I shared an amused look. I could read that she was thinking the same thing I was. Guys. The way to their heart was through their stomachs, or well, something else that I didn't even want to think about at the moment. I sat in the empty chair between Alice and Edward.

"Enjoy guys" I said.

"Oh trust me, I will" Jasper said.

With that, we all fell into silence as we ate.

**EPOV**

The meal that Bella and Alice made had been so delicious. I had had thirds and fourths, which I was actually surprised at. I never ate that much as a general habit. Bella was truly an amazing cook. We were now sitting in Bella's living room talking.

"Remember all the times all of us partied together?" Jasper said.

"Oh my God, how could I forget. Those were some great times." Bella said, her laughter lighting up her eyes. It was good to see the light back in her eyes after today.

"I know right?" Alice said also laughing.

"I remember the night I saved your guys' asses." I said looking pointedly at Alice and Bella. They looked at each other and laughed.

"The Penis Cake!" They exclaimed laughing. "I swear, cops at home think you are gay!"

"Still saved your ass" I said.

"I was passed out shit faced" Bella said.

"If not for me, you would have been arrested."

"Hey now! I also helped save her ass!" Alice said looking pointedly at me.

"True, how could I forget about her being your sister sleeping after a long day at work?"

"Exactly" Alice said sticking out her tongue.

"I feel so left out" Jasper said looking at the three of us, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Don't feel bad Jasper. They are arguing as if I wasn't even in the room" Bella said to Jasper.

"Sorry Jasper, love. You weren't there for that party." Alice said.

I could visibly see the bond and the love between Alice and Jasper. It was so strong and so plain. It made my heart hurt to see it. I wanted that. I'd wanted someone to feel that way about. I was sure that Jasper would be proposing to Alice soon enough, and I was truly happy for him. I'd always wanted someone to love me, someone I could be with. If I hadn't been so stupid, maybe there would still be a chance for me with the girl I let get away, but I had been.

I glanced sideways at Bella, sitting next to Alice. She looked so happy. Her face was lit with laughter. I couldn't help but smile to see that. It was so good to see her so happy after such a day. If there was ever a king to all bad days, this was it. I saw her glance at me after a fit of laughter at something Alice said just to her. The fact that she had looked at me with light and warmth in her eyes sent a jolt of something right through me. I knew she only saw me as a friend right now, but that was because of me. It was the time I was being an idiot, and the years that went by.

The more time we all spent together laughing and talking, I relaxed. I had truly enjoyed myself, and Bella looked like she was doing the same. It was amazing how she could sit and laugh and joke with us. I remembered again why I had been attracted to her years ago, and made a vow that I wouldn't be so stupid again if she ever felt the same again that she did years ago. I would be with her, if she wanted me, that is.

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**A/n: so there…Edward's true feelings towards Bella revealed. Hope you liked the chapter. Song inspiration: All Black by Good Charlotte. Dedicating this chapter to all my friends from college. I love you guys to death! You are like a second family to me!!! This chapter is dedicated to you!!! Love, your one and only Me.**

**Hoping to update tomorrow…don't get mad at me if I don't get to it. Have lots to do tomorrow.**


	19. Held

**A/n: Hello All!!! Sorry for the length of time I've gone without updating. Been putting major OT in at work and spending a lot of time with my fiancée. I feel the need to let you all know, the story in my last chapter about the party is all 100% true. It really happened. Yes, there are cops in the world who think one of my friends is gay because he said it was his birthday. Oh, and the penis cake was real. Anyways, just thought I'd let y'all know that it is not something I made up. On with the story!!!**

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**Chapter 19**

**BPOV**

The dinner was a huge success and I had had so much fun. It was good to just sit around and talk with my friends. We had talked about our summer to remember and the various things that had happened. We remembered the parties, the laughter, the tears, and the incident that had bonded Jasper, Edward, and I in a way that was unbreakable. We laughed until we had tears running down our faces when Edward said his word.

"Edward, you are funny as hell when you are drunk."

"I know, I'm the entertainment."

"He said it, not me!" Alice said, pointing at Edward.

"But he is. He repeats one word over and over again. And his voice cracks when he says it too!" Jasper said. Edward just glared at Jasper.

"You just had to go and say something didn't you?" Edward asked rolling his eyes. "There is only one thing to say I guess."

"Oh good, here it comes" Jasper laughed.

"Just one word: FFUUUUUUUUUCK"

All we could do was laugh. It came out perfect. Just exactly how he says it when he's drunk.

As the hours moved on we still sat and talked about everything. I told Jasper and Alice what had happened at the school today with Laurent and Irina. They sat in silence as I told them about how he had shown up and had basically thrown my recent miscarriage in my face.

"I can't believe he did that" Jasper said quietly after I had finished.

"Bells, I think I'm going to have to seriously kick his fucking ass." Alice said, her hands balling into fists as she said it.

"Get in line" Edward and Jasper both said at the same time. I could tell both were as furious as Alice was.

"You seem to be handling it okay." Jasper said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. It hurts a lot, but I will be better in time." I said looking down at my hands.

"Yeah, I understand that. Are you going to take some time off to recover?" Alice asked.

"I'm going to take tomorrow off from the school and the hospital." I said.

"Carlisle gave her tomorrow off automatically. He is willing to accommodate some time off for recovery." Edward said.

"Bella, don't force yourself to go back to work if you don't feel you're ready to go back." Jasper said.

"I don't want this to stop my life. I have a life to live and I refuse to have it interrupted by his bullshit." I said, my cheeks burning with anger.

"We understand that Bella, but you can't act like it had no effect on you either." Alice said.

"It did have an effect on me, I'm not denying that fact. I am willingly take a day off of work to relax and reset, but I will not let it ruin me. If he sees that I am stopping my life because of what he did, he's done exactly what he came here to do."

"You have a point there. Bella, all we want is for you to be fine. We will do whatever it takes to make his ass pay for what he did to you. In the meantime, our biggest concern is you." Alice said.

"Bella, we are here for you. Just please consider what we are saying? We want what is absolutely best for you. Soon enough you are going to be busy with court things and you will have to face him at those hearings. We want you to be ready and okay by then to do that." Edward said looking deep into my eyes. It was hard not to see where he was coming from.

"Okay you guys, I will make you a deal. I will take tomorrow off of both jobs. I will return the day after though. Once court proceedings start, I will put my 2 weeks in at the hospital, and take a 1 week vacation from the school. At that time I will focus my time and energy into taking care of court things and myself. Does that sound okay?" I asked.

"Alright Bella, we will back you on this plan. You've got a good head on your shoulders." Jasper said looking relieved that I had come up with a plan that takes care of working and taking time off for myself.

"Okay guys, I just realized, it's almost 1 in the morning." Alice said. "I have to get up at 7 to be at the hospital by 9. I think its time for us to head out."

"I agree." Jasper said. "I have some stuff I want to do before I go to bed."

"Alright you guys." I said standing up.

"Well Bella, this was fun. We absolutely have to do this again." Alice said.

"Well duh." I agreed.

"It was good to see you Bella."

"Good to see you too" I said hugging Jasper.

Once they had left it was just me and Edward again. I stretched as soon as the door closed.

"I'm ready for another smoke and then bed." I said.

"Yeah, I should get going so I can get to bed." Edward said looking down at his feet.

"If you want, you can crash here in the guest bedroom." I said. "There is a TV and a DVD player in there so if you want, you can pick out a movie and watch it."

"Sounds good then." Edward said.

"Okay, well, follow me." I said. I led him down the hall. "This is my bedroom. I have my own bathroom attached to it so you don't have to worry about sharing the bathroom." I said gesturing to the closed door to my right. I had a thing about people seeing my bedroom if I didn't want them to. "This here is the bathroom." I said leading him into the bathroom at the end of the hall. "There are towels and such in this closet. Feel free to grab what you need out of there. If you will follow me, I will show you the guest room." I led him down the hall to the bedroom directly across from mine. "This is the guest bedroom. Make yourself comfortable. If you need anything and you can't find it, let me know. You can raid the refrigerator if you want."

"Bella, thank you for letting me stay. I am so tired I might've wrecked the car driving it. I didn't feel safe." He said looking into my eyes again. I had to fight off the weakness plowing its way through my body.

"Not a problem Edward. Anytime, my door is always open, metaphorically speaking that is." I said laughing a little.

"Bella, I'm here for you if you want to talk or cry or anything." He said.

"Thank you Edward, I really mean it. Thank you for everything." I said hoping like hell my voice didn't crack and that he could not see the tears forming in my eyes.

"Anytime, anything Bella." He said quietly. "Goodnight Bella."

"Goodnight Edward, sleep good." I said.

**EPOV**

"Thank you Edward, I really mean it. Thank you for everything." She said. She was trying to hide it but I could still hear it in her voice. She was crying. As soon as I heard the tears in her voice so I looked at her face. The tears were there in her eyes. My heart instantly ripped a little. I never wanted to see her cry again. Ever.

"Anytime, anything Bella." I said, and I meant it. "Goodnight Bella"

"Goodnight Edward, sleep good." She said. I almost didn't hear it as she just about whispered it.

I walked into the bedroom and shut the door behind me. I had to escape her tears before I lost it and hunted her dad down and beat the mother fucker to death. He had put those tears in her eyes earlier. I sat on the end of the bed and took a really deep breath. The stress of the day was insane and it felt good to just relax.

Alice, Jasper, Bella, and I had all talked and reminisced for hours. It seemed good for Bella to get today out of the forefront of her mind. I however had to fight to keep today out of the back of my mind. I wouldn't have minded driving Alice, Jasper, and I down to the police station to beat the shit out of Laurent and Irina.

I heard Bella come back in, trying quietly, from the balcony. I listened to her footsteps as I listened to her kick off her shoes, and head for the kitchen. I heard water running and dishes clanking together. From the kitchen I heard her music drifting through the air. She had turned on her I-home. I listened to her while she sang along with Natalie Grant to "Held". She had such a good singing voice and matched each note perfectly.

I laid back and continued to listen to her sing the song word for word, note for note.

"_This is what it is to be held. How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive. This is what it is, to be loved, and to know that the promise was when everything fell, we'd be held._" She sang.

Before I knew it, my eyes had drifted closed listening to her singing. The last thing I heard before falling asleep was her voice, drifting through the house

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**A/n: Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. Again, the "incident" and "FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK" is all 100% true. My inspiration for this chapter came from the song "Held" by Natalie Grant. It is an amazingly beautiful song, and quite appropriate for Bella.**


	20. Suffocate

**A/n: hey all!!! I'm trying to get better at updating . I'm going to try to update 1 chapter on my days off of work. I have to thank my girl Alli for giving me the idea for this chapter. You are amazing!!! Anyways on with the chapter.**

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**Chapter 20**

**EPOV**

I didn't know what had woken me up, but I woke up startled laying at the end of the guest bed at Bella's still in my clothes. The last thing I remember is closing my eyes, listening to Bella sing as she cleaned up the kitchen from dinner. I got up, and pulled the covers back on the bed to go back to sleep. I had just laid down when I heard what had woken me up.

I walked out to the hall way to see if I was just imagining it. The sound was louder as soon as I opened the door. Bella was screaming, loud, painful screaming. I knocked on her door across from the guest room. No answer. I took a chance and opened the door. I looked into her room. I could see her thrashing underneath her covers and could make out what she was screaming.

"NO! PLEASE NO! DADDY!" Bella screamed.

I rushed over to where I saw the covers moving and started feeling around for her. First thing I found was her hand. She had freed her hands and arms from the blankets and were flailing them in front of her, like she was struggling. I grabbed one of her hands in mine and she turned to me. Her eyes were closed, but there were tears streaming down her cheeks.

"HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEONE, ANYONE!" she continued to scream.

I still held one of her hands. With the other hand I reached down and cupped my palm to her face. "Bella, you're having a nightmare. Wake up Bella." I said starting to panic. She continued to wrestle with the blankets trying to fight off what ever she was dreaming about.

I moved my hand from her face, to her shoulder. I shook her shoulder gently. "Bella, please, wake up for me?" I begged her. I couldn't stand to see her this way. It broke my heart to see Bella in so much pain, even in sleep.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally stopped screaming. It was silent in her room. I looked down at her face to find her looking at me with tear-filled eyes. My heart instantly broke for her.

"What are you doing in here Edward?" Bella asked.

"I heard you screaming. I came in to see if you were okay and you were fighting with your covers screaming. You were having a nightmare, and I was trying to wake you up." I said.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." She said yawning.

"It's ok Bella. Are you going to be okay?" I asked her.

She looked at me for another moment before her composure broke and she was crying. She buried her face into her pillow and sobbed her heart out. I stroked her hair quietly while she cried.

After a while her breathing slowed and evened out. She was finally asleep again. I debated whether I should stay with her just in case or go back to the guest bedroom. After about 10 minutes, I slid off the edge of her bed and made my way to the door. I heard her shift her position.

"Edward" she moaned.

I froze. I thought she had woken up and had seen me sneaking out of her room. I slowly turned around to see that she had rolled on her side but was still sleeping. I turned around not even attempting to stop the smile that was spreading across my face. I smiled all the way to the guest bedroom. I crawled back under the covers and settled in. I knew I had fallen asleep smiling like an idiot. I fell into a peaceful sleep without dreaming.

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I woke up to the alarm clock on my cell phone. I rolled over and hit the snooze button. I hated mornings. I rolled onto my back and then sat up quickly when I remembered where I had slept. I looked at the unfamiliar room and looked at the time on my phone again. It was 5:30 in the morning. I had to get home so that I could shower and change for work. I got out of bed and stretched. I wasn't sure if I had dreamt last night or not.

I remembered falling asleep at the end of the bed listening to Bella singing while she cleaned, then I woke up to Bella screaming because she was having a nightmare. What I wasn't sure about was if she really had moaned my name in her sleep. Why would she be dreaming about me? Is it really possible that she still felt the same for me that she did back then?

I shook my head clearing the questions. I had to get going. I had time to think about it in the shower while I got ready for work. I made the bed and walked out into the hall. I walked to the living room. I looked around looking for a piece of paper and a pen. I spotted a note pad and a pen sitting on the bar separating the kitchen and the living room. I penned a quick note to her and put on my shoes. I left her place with questions I could not answer running through my head.

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**A/n: Hope you all liked it. Sorry about how short it is. Wanted to do a whole chapter in 1 POV. **

**Song inspiration for this chapter: Suffocate by Cold.**


	21. Wanted Dead or Alive

A/n: Gosh I'm rly bad at updating regularly. But, I guess that's what happens when you are planning a wedding. Yes, I have started to officially plan me and my fiancée's wedding. I hope you like this chapter. This is prolly the only chance I will have to update this week. Enjoy!!!

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Chapter 21

BPOV

**I woke up and rolled over on my back. I had turned off my alarm clock so that it would not wake me up. Carlisle had given me the day off to relax after the incident at the school with Laurent and Irina. I did not want to get out of my bed, but I knew I had to in order to call the hospital to let them know that I would not be in today. I had made a promise to Edward, Alice, and Jasper that I would take today off from both jobs. I hated taking time off of work. I enjoyed my work, it's why I dealt with going to college for 5 years.**

**I rolled over and looked at the clock next to my bed. It was a little after ten in the morning. I stretched and climbed out from under my warm blankets. I got up and dragged myself out of my bedroom. The door across the hall was open and so I stuck my head in the door. Edward was of course, at the school teaching. He wasn't in there, but the bed was made up really nice and neat and nothing in the room looked like it was touched. I smiled and headed for the kitchen for a cup of coffee.**

**The sun was shining through the window above my sink. Not really the kind of morning I was having, but it was still kind of good to see the sunshine out. I started the coffee pot and headed out to have my first smoke of the day. As I walked by the island in my kitchen I noticed that the pad of paper and pen that were sitting there had moved. I inched closer to them and saw that the first sheet of paper on the pad had writing on it. I picked up the pad and tucked it under my arm. I would read it when I got outside. I put my flip flops on and grabbed my lighter and cigarettes and headed out to the balcony. There, I sunk into a chair and relaxed. I put the pad on my lap and read his words he wrote.**

_**Dear Bella,**_

_**You were still asleep when I woke up this morning. Thank you so much for the place to stay for the night. You are one incredible hostess. Dinner was also Amazing. Holy shit woman, you can cook! Bella, I also wanted to remind you that I am here for you as long as you need me. I don't know if you even remember, but you were having a nightmare last night. You were screaming, literally screaming. Bella, I will always be there for you as I was last night. You have nothing to worry about with me, I will not hold this against you or make you feel embarrassed about it. If you ever need a friend or anything, please, call me, text me, anything. I'm here for you Bella. For now, for always.**_

_**~Edward**_

**The pad of paper almost fell out of my hand, my cigarette forgotten in the other.**__**I read his words over and over to make sense out of what I was reading. This really did not sound like something the Edward I knew would say or even write. I didn't know if I could believe that he had changed that much over the course of 5 years, but then again, stranger things had been known to happen.**

**I took a drag of my almost forgotten cigarette while thinking over the message Edward had left for me. Questions filled my head, as well as the echoes of the past. I remembered the text message that had me in tears in the middle of the college I was going to at the time. I remembered the details from a party that no one else but I knew (other than Alice who I knew wouldn't say anything about it). I remembered the life changing event that two of us were involved in with Jasper and Jane, the late night conversations online after that because we couldn't sleep. Everything played through my mind like a movie. The words from his note swirled in among them like captions.**

**I was lost in my own little world there on my balcony thinking about Edward and the lost years and the note left in my kitchen. I finished my cigarette and went back inside. I plopped the note pad beside the phone and I picked up the cordless phone and dialed the number to the hospital. I spoke with Embry and told him that I would not be able to make it in today and told him why. He understood and told me to just relax and not let it get to me for now. I thanked him very much as I poured myself a cup of coffee. Once I had a cup of coffee and my phone call to the hospital taken care of, I decided to take a bath to unwind my muscles. I grabbed my I-home and my phone and went into the bathroom and ran my bath water. I didn't know what the future was holding for me, and for the next hour or so, I wasn't going to care. The only thing I was going to concentrate on was the nice hot water, the bubbles, my coffee, and some scented candles, and that was it. **

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**A/n: sorry it has taken me sooo long to update…have been super busy lately with me moving in with my fiancee. Sorry its short. Song inspiration for this chapter: Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon Jovi.**


	22. I Will Not Bow

A.N: Hello dearest readers, thank you for bearing with me even though I have severely been neglecting this story. I feel so bad for leaving you hanging for so long. Anyways, I'm going to be updating a lot to make up for it, well, at least I am going to try. On with the story…by the way…I still do not own Twilight.

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Chapter 22

**BPOV**

I don't quite know how long I had been in the bathtub, but some time ago I had dozed off. I looked at the clock on my I-home. I had been asleep for about 2 hours. My stomach growled from somewhere in the bubbly water. _Yeah, I know. You're hungry, it's lunchtime anyway._ I thought to myself.

I got out of the water and let the bathtub drain while I dried off. I got changed into a pair of shorts and a baggy t-shirt. I checked my cell phone, but there was nothing that I had missed. I was pretty sure that everyone was giving me some space, not to mention the day to myself. I smiled and wrapped a towel around my neck and left the bathroom. I made my bed on the way to the kitchen, which took hardly any time at all.

I got into the kitchen and pulled a bowl from the cupboard and a spoon from the drawer next to the sink. I spooned some of the leftovers from last nights dinner into the bowl. For some reason, there was quite a bit leftover. Jasper and Alice had taken a good sized container for their lunches today, and I had left a container for Edward to take as well. He obviously remembered because the container with his name on it was gone. I leaned against the counter while the microwave heated up my lunch. I thought about the most random things. It felt like my mind was going a hundred miles per hour. I thought about Edward, and his note, to my dad and his wife, my relationship with Mike now and then, both my jobs, and the court dates to come. I picked up the cordless phone and dialed Emmett. He and Rosalie needed to be called back about bringing the kids for Christmas. Rosalie answered on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi Rosalie, it's Bella"

"Hi Bella, how are you?"

"I'm doing ok, how are you guys doing?"

"We're doing good. We all miss you, especially the boys. Did you get Emmett's message?"

"Yes I did, that's why I'm calling."

"Oh, ok, let me see if Emmett can get the phone, he's playing with the boys down in the family room."

"Sounds fun, wish I could be there to play with them"

"I know. Hang on Bella."

"All right Rosalie, it was good talking to you"

"You too"

The timer on the microwave went off while Rosalie was getting my brother Emmett on the phone. I could hear everyone in the background. Zach, upon hearing that I was on the phone, wanted to tell me something, so he wanted to talk to me. I smiled as he referred to me as "Auntie Bella". It always made me smile. Josh was still a little too young to understand. I pulled the bowl out of the microwave and stirred it with the spoon that I had used to dish it into the bowl with. I shut the door to the microwave and threw the spoon into the sink. I grabbed the bag of tortilla chips and set everything on the bar. Next I grabbed a can of coke out of the refrigerator.

"Hey Bella" Emmett said as I closed the door to the refrigerator.

"Hem Em, how are you?"

"I'm good, very tired. How are you?"

"I'm doing pretty good."

"That's good. How's the new job?"

"It's great, I really like it. I'm finally where I want to be. Don't get me wrong, I liked working at the hospital, and still do, but I really wanted to work with kids, and now I am."

"That's good, I'm glad to hear that."

"How's flying?"

"It's good, I'm getting ready for a 4 day trip"

"Oh fun Em. So, what's up?"

"Do you want the boys for a while at Christmas?"

"Sure, why?"

"Rosalie and I are going on a cruise starting a couple of days after Christmas, and the parents watch them so much for us, and we fly into Indianapolis on our way to Florida. We thought of you, because you haven't seen the boys in a while, and they keep asking about when you are coming for a visit, and thought you might like to have them for a few days. What do you think sis?"

"I think that would be great. I would love to have the boys during Christmas break. What day do you fly out?"

"On December 27 and we would pick them up on the way home on January 3. Is that okay with you?"

"That's fine. We go back to school on January 4, so that works out perfectly. I will put it on my calendar that they will be here from the 27 to the 3. Will I need to get them from the airport, or are you going to bring them here?"

"We are going to spend the night at the hotel at the airport so that we have time to see you and say goodbye to them."

"Oh, ok, that gives us time then and I'm sure we will make plans to get together while you're here."

"Sounds good sis. Can't wait! Have you got time? Zach wants to talk to auntie Bella and tell her something."

"Absolutely Emmett, I would love to talk to Zach."

"Okay, just a sec"

"Okay, take your time"

I smiled as I waited for my oldest nephew to get on the line. It was hard to believe that he was almost 10 years old. Hell, he made me feel old. I silently laughed as I thought of that.

"Hi auntie Bella!"

"Hi Zach. How are you?"

"I'm good. I want to tell you something"

"Okay, I'm listening buddy"

"I have club penguin now"

"Cool"

"I get to play games and be online and stuff."

"Sounds fun Zach. Are you excited about coming to see me?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to see you auntie Bella. Do you have club penguin?"

"I don't, but I'm sure if your mommy gives me your information, I can get you on club penguin on my computer."

"Really?"

"Absolutely Zach"

"Yay!"

"Can I talk to daddy again please?"

"Okay. I love you auntie Bella"

"I love you too Zach"

"Bella?"

"I'm here Emmett"

"Okay, I wasn't sure as he might have hung up the phone. He's done that a couple of times on accident."

"Oh, I see, I see."

"So we all set?"

"Sounds like Em. Was there anything else you were wanting?"

"Nope that was it sis. Have a good day"

"You too Em. Love you"

"Love you too sis"

We said goodbye and I hung up the phone. I was about half way through my lunch. I sat there thinking about my family and how excited I was about having my nephews for a while during Christmas break. I hadn't seen them in so long. The last time I saw them, was the last time I had the time to go home and visit. Then it wasn't a very long visit. I didn't get much time off working at the hospital. Now at least I would get breaks off. It worked for me.

I thought about all the things I would need to do before December. I needed to completely re-do the guest bedroom to accommodate 2 kids. I needed a twin sized bed, and a toddler bed for Josh, that is unless he was still sleeping in a crib, which I highly doubted. He'd be turning 2 in November which was only a month and a half away. I started to scribble these things on a pad of paper so that I wouldn't forget them. Before I knew it, my lunch was gone, and I had no energy or ambition to do the dishes. I took my bowl to the sink and filled it with warm water and dish soap to soak, and I rinsed out my coke can. I had another cigarette and had just come back in when I heard my cell phone ringing. I looked at the caller id and answered it.

"Hello Edward"

"Hey Bella. How are you?"

"I'm good. How's your day going?"

"Good, quiet. Carlisle and Esme asked how you are doing."

"That's good. What did you tell them?"

"I told them you were okay, that you were at home relaxing. Carlisle is glad and said if you need anything, to please let him know."

"If you see him again today, please tell him I said 'thank you'"

"I will Bella. Oh, by the way, the reason I'm calling is, Alice called me. Her and Jasper want to take us out to dinner tonight. You in?"

"Absolutely. She say where?"

"She's thinking either italian or japanese"

"So either way, it requires me to dress up a little. Great"

"It won't kill either of us. I'll pick you up, you can ride with me. No point in bringing too many cars."

"Very true, what time will you be picking me up sir?"

"Oh, about 7:30 this evening my lady"

"Ok, I will be ready and waiting"

"Ok miss. Bella, I will see you then. I have got to go now, have a classroom of kids coming in in a couple of minutes."

"Well, better not leave those kids waiting. Have a good rest of the day Edward."

"You too Bella. See you later"

"See you later"

We hung up and I looked at my phone. I couldn't believe that Alice didn't text me about it. Then I thought about her motives. I flipped my phone back open and sent her a text message.

APOV

I had just filed my last piece of admissions paperwork when the cell phone in my pocket vibrated. It was a text message from Bella.

_You little shit! You're sneaky! But I'm not complaining __J_

I laughed hard and long. I can't believe how well my plotting had gone. Edward had been happy to accept our invitation, and obviously he contacted Bella before I got the chance to, and she figured it all out. There was no getting anything past her. I hit the reply button and typed in: _I figured you'd know what I was up to! Damn it! I guess there really is no surprising you. Don't worry, I will find a way, I promise. See ya later homie!_ I put my phone away and laughed to myself. Tonight was going to be a good night.

?POV

I watched him leaving the school after the school had been cleared of kids. The guy who was with _her_. I didn't see her anywhere among the staff that had exited the building. Either she didn't work today, or she took the day off. Well, I'm sure following him would lead me to her. I watched him get into a silver Volvo and drive down the road away from me. I followed. It would be a matter of time that I would be able to get to her.

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**A.N: Hope you guys liked it. I had some writers block when I started this. Hope y'all liked it. Song inspiration: I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin from their new CD. Please, if you have a song that you would like to see used in this story, let me know, send me a msg or put it in a review for me. I will try to work it into the next chapter.**


	23. Burn It To The Ground

**A/n: I'm working really hard on updating more often. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who read this. Hope it's a good one! On with the story. BTW… song inspiration: Burn It To The Ground by Nickelback**

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**Chapter 23**

**BPOV**

I was in my bathroom getting ready for tonight. Alice had decided that we should go to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner before going to a karaoke club. I smiled into the mirror when Alice demanded that I dress up. She had also asked me to do her hair and make up before we went. So all four of us were going to ride in one car, since both guys had to come to my house to get us. I twirled the last strand of my light brown hair around my curling iron. I counted 30 seconds in my head while concentrating on the lyrics of the song playing on my I-pod. I knew I would have to put it on repeat when Alice got here.

I had just taken the curling iron away from my hair when there was a knock on my door. I sighed and rolled my eyes and paused the song. I opened the door to a very bouncy Alice.

"Hey Al. How goes it?" I said standing off to the side so that she could come in.

"It goes good home slice. You look great! Spin!" She commanded.

I spun so that she could see the outfit in it's entirety. I was wearing a black mop wrap dress with a tie that was tied into a bow at the right side of my hip.

"Bella, you look amazing. Are you going to put your hair up, or are you going to leave it down?" She asked taking off her coat.

"I'm probably going to put it up before I put 10 pounds of hairspray in it." I said

"Sounds good, I think it will look pretty either way." She said.

She grabbed 2 cokes out of my refrigerator before following me to my bathroom. I hit the button to start the song I had been listening to over again.

"Love this song!" Alice exclaimed as the first notes of The Veronica's "Take Me On The Floor" blasted out of my I-home.

"I figured you'd approve of my song selection." I said rolling my eyes at her. I set my can on the sink counter and grabbed my container of hair pins.

"So, how was your day of relaxation?" She asked sitting on the side of my bathtub.

"It was good, I fell asleep in the bathtub for a couple of hours. Watched a movie after I called Emmett back." I said.

"What did Emmett want?" Alice asked.

"He wanted to know if I would want Zach and Josh for a week while they go on a cruise" I said pushing another hair pin in my hair.

"I know what your answer to that one was" Alice laughed.

"Of course I said yes. I love my nephews to death and definitely would love to have them here." I said

"What are you going to do about the fact that you have no where for them to sleep?" Alice asked.

"I'm going shopping and re-doing the guest room" I said shrugging.

"Oh, I see. Well, better get our partying done before then." She said laughing

"Oh yes, because I'm not going out partying while they are here." I said giving her a stern look

"I know, wouldn't want you too." Alice said. "What about Edward?"

"I don't know. What about him?" I asked. I shoved a hair pin in my hair so hard that it hurt my head.

"Well, are you going to try for him again?" She asked

"No, he's made it perfectly clear that he only wants to be my friend Alice" I said.

"Bull Shit Bella." She said standing up. "What is this?"

She was holding up the notepad that Edward had written his note to me on. "Alice" I warned.

"'_Dear Bella,'" _She started. "'_You were still asleep when I woke up this morning. Thank you so much for the place to stay for the night. You are one incredible hostess. Dinner was also Amazing. Holy shit woman, you can cook! Bella, I also wanted to remind you that I am here for you as long as you need me. I don't know if you even remember, but you were having a nightmare last night. You were screaming, literally screaming. Bella, I will always be there for you as I was last night. You have nothing to worry about with me, I will not hold this against you or make you feel embarrassed about it. If you ever need a friend or anything, please, call me, text me, anything. I'm here for you Bella. For now, for always. Edward'"_

She finished reading the letter out loud and gave me a challenging look.

"Alice, he didn't mean anything more than as a friend." I said

"Bella, you know that is pure bullshit. I've seen you 2 together. My God, the attraction to you was blatantly obvious."

"Alice, I was there. There was no indication to me."

"Bella, please don't make me buy you a bottle of blond hair dye." Alice warned me

"Alice, you do that and I kill you. I prefer not to look like Rosalie"

"Then Bella, I'm going to give you some advice, open those pretty fucking eyes of yours, and make your move. There is no better time, and he is most definitely interested. Don't let him fool you."

"Alice, he hurt me once, I'm not sure I want to put myself out there again." I said bowing my head.

"Bella, if he's worth it, you will fight for it." Alice said.

"God damn it!" I said, I knew she was right. "Alice, I hate when you're right"

"I know" She said smiling "Now Bella, if we are going to be ready in time, you need to finish your hair so you can do my hair and make up."

"Ok Alice, I'm almost done."

I shoved the last few hair pins in my hair before spraying plenty of hair spray on my head to make sure it stayed. I inspected myself in the mirror to make sure that my make up was perfect and my hair was going to hold exactly as I had it pinned and sprayed. It seemed to behave so I motioned Alice over to sit on the toilet so I could beautify her.

I worked in silence the whole time I made over Alice. We just listened to the songs that played out of my I-pod. We both danced when Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" played. We both started laughing when we got back to the task at hand. It was 15 minutes before we were getting picked up when I unplugged my curling iron and put my make up bag away. I pulled a pair of black satrapy heels out of my closet to wear. I sat on the edge of my bed as I fought with the stupid rhinestone clasp. I needed a cigarette after the conversation Alice and I had while I finished getting ready. I yelled to Alice where I would be and stepped out on the balcony.

I relaxed into one of the padded chairs and closed my eyes. I felt so relaxed out here, it was so quiet. I heard noises from inside and turned to look through the glass doors. Alice had opened the front door and the guys were walking into the condo. I watched as Jasper kissed Alice on the lips in greeting. I figured one of them had asked where I was because Alice motioned to the balcony door. I saw Edward turn to look where Alice had motioned. His gaze locked on mine, and heat spread through my head to my body. He waved, and I did the same smiling. Alice was standing behind him giving me very suggestive looks.

I rolled my eyes and put out my cigarette to see everyone. I stepped into the living room and I audibly heard someone gasp. I looked up to see that Edward seemed to have an oxygen problem. His breath had come out in a huff when I looked at him. I almost laughed. Whatever that reaction was to, I wasn't sure. Certainly I couldn't have caused that. I greeted both Edward and Jasper and joked with them. A few minutes later we were all headed to Jasper's Chevy Malibu. Alice beat Edward to the front seat next to Jasper, so he was stuck in the back seat with me. "_Oh geez"_ I thought "_this is going to be a long ride"_

**EPOV**

Jasper and I had arrived at the building Bella's condo was in at the same time. We laughed and joked on the elevator about whether or not the girls would be ready when we got there. I knocked on the door not knowing what to expect. Alice had texted me that we were going to The Cheesecake Factory and that I had to dress up nice. It had taken me an hour to find the black dress pants I was wearing and a button up shirt. Jasper was wearing a pair of khakis and a polo. We laughed and joked about whether the girls would be ready when we got there.

I knocked on Bella's door and waited for her to answer. I couldn't wait to see her and see what she was wearing. My heart sank in my chest when Alice was the one to answer the door.

"Hey Alice" Jasper and I said in unison.

"You look great honey" Jasper said stepping into her and kissing her. She was wearing a denim skirt and a purple halter top.

"Hey Edward" Alice said moving in for a hug

I hugged her back "Hey there, how are you?"

"I'm good. Bella's on the balcony smoking" She said motioning to the glass sliding doors that led out to the balcony.

My eyes followed in the direction she had motioned to. I saw Bella sitting in one of the chairs, turned looking towards the door. I waved smiling. She waved back smiling as well, and when her eyes met mine, I had to fight the warmth spreading throughout my body. She had her hair up in an intricate design, and her hair was curled. It wasn't until she came in from the balcony that I could see what she was wearing. When she stepped in, all the air in my lungs suddenly left. She looked amazing, and I was stunned. She seemed confused when she heard me gasp in a breath. She seemed to shrug it off and continued getting ready to leave. It was hard for me to take my eyes off of her. Her curves were accented by the dress, and her legs were more defined by the heels she had on. In fact they were making my mouth water.

I swallowed so that I didn't start drooling everywhere. She probably wouldn't appreciate that, especially having a white carpet. She threw a white dress coat on over her dress and did up the buttons. She smiled at me, we still hadn't spoken to each other. I was fine with just staring at her, which is basically what I was doing. She finally made her way over to me and held out her hand for a hand shake.

"Hello Edward." She said fighting a laugh

"Hello Bella, how are you this fine evening?" I asked hoping to all hell my voice was steady

"I am wonderful" She said. I saw Alice shooting me a look from behind her. It was like she was trying to tell me something telepathically. "How are you?"

"I am great. Glad to be out of work and going out." I said. I was shaking with her standing not even two feet in front of me. Alice reached out with some kind of fabric in her hand. I grabbed it and let it loose. It was a scarf. I shot a confused look at a very smug Alice. _Damn Pixie_ I thought. She pointed to Bella's back and rolled her eyes at me when I shot her a confused look. Jasper sighed and rolled his eyes too. He motioned for me to put the scarf around Bella's neck so that the wind wouldn't make her cold.

I stepped closer to Bella, and dared looking her straight in the eye. I raised the scarf and wound it around her neck gently. "There, now you won't get cold while we are out tonight" I said. Alice again rolled her eyes at me.

"Thank you Edward, that was so very thoughtful of you." She said, blushing from the top of her head down to the small part of her neck that was still visible. I found myself resisting the urge to kiss the soft part of her neck where the bottoms of her ears were. I was suddenly chilled by the thought of doing that to her, and imagining the beautiful sounds it would elicit from her.

I had to stop my imagination dead in it's tracks there before I scared her with the reaction that was just starting to happen. "Not a problem Bella. Don't need you getting sick" I teased, trying in vain to make the reaction to my imagination go away.

Alice chose that moment to clear her throat causing Bella to jump and spin around, and almost fall over. I had to reach out and grab her by the waist to keep her upright.

"Good job Alice" I teased

"Yeah Alice, you could have killed me" Bella said sarcastically.

"Right Bella, it isn't as if you didn't have anyone around to catch you" She said looking at me.

"Get over it Alice" She said.

"Whatever you say Bella, but you know I'm right!" Alice said sticking out her tongue.

"Ok you two, it's time for us to get going. Our reservations are at 8:30, and it's 8 right now." Jasper said.

"Ok, I'm hungry, lets go!" Alice said spinning and marching out of the room before any of us had the time to blink. "LETS GO!!"

I covered my ears to avoid going deaf from Alice's screaming.

"I feel so bad for my neighbors" Bella said softly.

"I understand" Jasper said, I feel the same way.

We all 3 laughed and walked out of the condo. I couldn't help but smile, this evening was going to be fun, if not a little interesting.


	24. Hot N Cold

**AN: Hello all, hope the new year is treating you well so far. It's not too pretty where I am now. This coming from a person who doesn't like the snow or the cold. On with the chapter…enjoy!!!**

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**Chapter 24**

**EPOV**

I rolled over in bed and threw my arm over my aching head. Needless to say, I had had a little too much to drink, and I was feeling it now. My head was pounding and the light that was streaming into the room was not helping. I rolled over and threw my pillow over my head. I was headed back to sleep when the events from last night flowed through my mind. I sat straight up in bed ignoring the searing pain in my head. The pain was the only thing that made this whole thing seem real.

I remembered not being able to breathe when I saw her for the first time when Jasper and I showed up to her condo. She was breathtakingly beautiful in her black dress and her hair all done up in curls. The heels she was wearing made me weak at the knees. They had made her legs look amazing, and surprisingly enough to me, inviting. It had been the first time I saw her look like that. Then we went to dinner. Jasper and Alice sat together forcing me and Bella on the other side of the table together. The way she was with us was completely natural, and it was good to see a happy Bella, especially after what she went through. Looking at her last night, you would think that nothing was going wrong for her.

Dinner was great, but when we went to a dance club, that was fun. Jasper and I were the drink runners for the girls. When I wasn't dancing with her, she was dancing with Alice. I liked dancing with her, and every time Alice sent me to the bar for another round of drinks, I just about cried. I hated being away from Bella now, and I didn't trust her dad not to walk right through the restraining order and hurt her further. I vowed not to let it happen, but things happen, especially when you're not expecting it. For most of the night though, I had Bella in my arms, dancing with her. It was a great night.

Bella drank quite a bit and was drunk when we left, so I was glad that she didn't drive. Alice was the one to help her once we got her to her condo again. She gave Bella a big glass of water and some Tylenol and helped her into her pajamas. I peeked into the room to make sure Bella was okay before I left. She was sleeping peacefully on her side.

Now as I sat on my bed, I thought about all the ways I had seen Bella. The first time I met her, she was a little shy, but she had loosened up around me after a while. She was gorgeous and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. I figured I didn't have a chance with her. She was such a kind person, which I hadn't been expecting. How could a girl that good looking be so beautiful on the inside? Most girls like her weren't like her. They were conceited bitches.

I thought about her first day at college in Forks. I remember hugging her in front of my friends. I couldn't help it much like I couldn't help breathing. She had walked in seeming confident, but the look in her eye told me she was nervous. I wanted to make that look in her eyes go away. Holding her close for a moment before my class was amazing. It took me the entire day to get over it.

There were a lot of insignificant memories after that, the way she had been there for me when I was played by a girl I had wanted to date to get her off my mind, the way she laughed, the way she picked on me so effortlessly, and the way she just was. The memory that stuck out the most was the last time I saw her before now. She was so beautiful, but so sad. I wondered how either one of us had the strength to walk away. I had sat on the bench where she had left me for a long time after she left. It was dark when I made my way home. The day and night had been my eternity.

After that fateful evening, we had tried to stay in touch, but I got busy with my schooling and such, and she with hers. I lost complete contact with her until now. I turned slightly looking at the picture, framed on my bedside table. I couldn't believe that she didn't think I would like the picture. She had given that to me, without the frame, the day she walked out of my life. It had been folded in half, like she wanted to give me the option of opening it. I'm glad I opened it, it was the only picture I had of just her and I, and if I say so, it was my favorite picture of her. She was wearing a black tank top and her hair was pulled back in a pony tail. It was classic Bella.

I sighed hard and thought about the night the picture was taken. She had thrown a party at the start of the summer, and we had all gathered at her house to hang out, and like all college students do, drink. Both of them had gotten drunk, and the rest is as they say, history, and that it really was. History.

I dragged myself out of bed to the bathroom and took some asprin and drank a full glass of water to help the headache that felt like his skull was being ripped open. He started the water heating for a shower in his bathroom and grabbed a pair of jeans and a long sleeved North Carolina shirt. He knew she had to work at the hospital today, and I figured I'd take her some lunch. I was getting ready to step into the shower when my phone started vibrating on the counter next to the sink. I looked at the phone and saw it was a text message from Bella. I opened the text and read: _Hey Edward, do you know anyone who would be driving a Toyota Highlander? I noticed it followed us last night when we went out, and the same one followed me to work today 3 Bella_. A jolt shot right through my body when I read her message. I didn't know anyone who drove that kind of car, and I remembered my feeling last night. I sent a quick response back to her. _Hey Bella…I don't know anyone who drives that kind of a car, and I didn't notice it last night. I'm getting ready to take a shower. I'm coming to the hospital. No matter what, don't leave! ~Edward_. I waited long enough to get her response before taking the fastest shower I'd ever taken.

**BPOV**

_Hey Bella…I don't know anyone who drives that kind of a car, and I didn't notice it last night. I'm getting ready to take a shower. I'm coming to the hospital. No matter what, don't leave! ~Edward._ I read it over and over again just to make it real to me. He was obviously worried about the message I'd sent him. I wondered if he was just as suspicious as I was. I was so suspicious, I could barely keep my mind on my work.

"Earth to Bella, what are you doing for lunch?" My co-worker Jane asked.

"Sorry Jane, I've got a lot on my mind today." I said, my face turning bright red. "I'm just going to stay here and grab something really quick from the cafeteria and work on some paperwork."

"Are you sure Bella? Alice and I are going to Don Pablo's for lunch. You're welcome to join us." Jane said.

"Thanks Jane, but I'm just going to stay here, a friend of mine is coming up for lunch." I said.

"Ok, well, you're always welcome to join us for lunch whenever. Well, unless Alec and I are going" Jane giggled out at the mere mention of her fiancée.

"Oh my gosh, you aren't still giggling over the fact that you and Alec finally got engaged are you Jane?" Alice asked as she strolled into the office with them after taking her last patient before lunch back to their room. "It's only been what, 2 months since he asked?"

"Hey now Alice, Alec happens to be a brilliant lawyer who makes so much money, but barely has time to breathe, the fact that he found time to romance me off my feet is amazing enough, but to want to marry me, that's just wow. You will understand when Jasper proposes to you!" Jane said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I highly doubt that will happen any time in the near future." Alice said rolling her eyes. "So Bella, how's it going?"

"It's going. I am going to be drowning in paperwork next week." I said rubbing my forehead with my fingertips.

"Why?" Jane asked

"Embry's decided to work with one of my patients during the week while I work at the school, and Embry loves making me finish all of his paperwork, which he does about three times more paperwork than all of us do combined for 1 person." I said

"Wow, I'm glad Embry hasn't covered any of mine" Alice said signing off on what she had done with her patients. "God I'm so hungry."

"Same, just let me sign off on these last couple of forms" Jane said as her hand started flying across the pages on her desk. "Done"

"Holy shit Jane, that was fast" Alice and I said at the exact same time.

"What can I say? I'm just that good" Jane laughed.

"We're not conceited or anything like that" I joked signing off on the last form on my desk just as my phone started vibrating in my purse. I pulled it out to see that I'd gotten a text message from Edward. I flipped my phone open and read: _Bella, I'm here at the hospital. I'll be there in a few minutes. It's going to take me a minute to find the OT department. Sorry. ~Edward._

"Ooh, who texted you, other than me of course?" Joked Alice.

"Edward did, Alice. You know friends do do that sometimes" I joked back.

"Well, we're headed out. See you in an hour" Alice said.

"Thanks for the warning Al" I said to her sarcastically.

I leaned back in the chair I was sitting in and rested my head on the back of the chair. It was already starting to be a very long day. Luckily I hadn't had a hangover this morning when I woke up after all the drinking I had done last night. I remembered having a lot of fun with Alice, Jasper, and Edward. We had done some more reminiscing and a lot of catching up. We talked about our random experiences at our respective colleges, and where life had led us since graduating, but the dance club had been a lot of fun too. I had an amazing time dancing with Edward and Alice, especially with Edward. I blushed bright red thinking about him and I dancing together. Especially when the song Hot N Cold by Katy Perry came on. I had nearly doubled over laughing when it came on and seeing the look of sheer pain on Edward's face. I had tortured him with that song when we went to college together, and since our reunion, I hadn't been able to torture him with it again, well, until now. As if on cue, Edward was knocking on the office door. God, here I was thinking about him, and all of the sudden he shows up. It was going to be a very long lunch.

**EPOV**

She was sitting in a very relaxed position when I knocked on the office door. She wheeled around in her chair and turned bright red when she saw me standing there. I had to resist the urge to laugh at her startled expression.

"Hey" I said

"Hey there. How is your day off?" She asked

"It's good. I'm glad to have a day off" I admitted.

"I wish I had the day off today. Unfortunately they scheduled me for today instead of tomorrow. I work 1 day of the weekend here every week. It's either a Saturday or a Sunday. I work today this week, so next week, I will work on Sunday." She said.

"Oh fun, I wanted to talk with you about the car that you saw following us last night." I said. "Oh, and I brought you lunch"

"Thank you Edward, you know, you can sit down." She said moving some folders into a neatly stacked pile.

I took a seat beside her, and the hour I got to spend with her started. It was time for total honesty.


	25. That Song In My Head

**A/n: Hello all…hope you're enjoying the story so far. It's taking a while to piece together, but it's coming along. Writers block sure doesn't help any. I forgot to add my inspiration song at the end of the last chapter. It was Hot N Cold by Katy Perry. **

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**Chapter 25**

**BPOV**

Edward was here, in my office, and he had brought me lunch. I couldn't hardly believe it, let alone wrap my mind around it. He was sitting in Alice's chair with a paper bag in his lap.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought subway for us. I know it's nothing near what we had for dinner last night" He said smiling

"Not a problem Edward, I love subway" I said smiling.

He opened the bag and pulled out 2 foot long subs wrapped in subway paper. He placed them on the desk next to him before pulling out napkins and 2 bottles of coke.

"Which kind do you want? I got turkey and roast beef" He said holding up the 2 subs.

"I'll take the turkey" I said. He held out the sub in his left hand

_Coincidence? Bella, snap out of it! Just a friend, nothing else!_

I took the sub from him and one of the bottles of coke. I unwrapped the sub and took a bite. It was heavenly, and I was happy that he thought to bring this for me for lunch. I took a sip of the coke to wash down the bite I had just taken.

"Yummy Edward, this sub is really good. Thank you for bringing me this for lunch. It was very thoughtful of you." I said

"You're welcome Bella. I really wanted to talk to you about the car you saw following you." He said.

My heart skipped a beat, and I knew my face was turning a bright shade of red. He said nothing, but his brown eyes gently held mine. I shook myself mentally and sighed. "I knew this was coming sooner or later" I said.

"I'm worried about you Bella" He said putting his free hand on my knee. I nearly fell out of my seat. I glanced back and forth between his face and his hand resting on the joint in my leg. I didn't dare let myself feel what I had felt before. I couldn't and I wouldn't.

"Thanks Edward, but if this really is my father, we have no way at this point to prove it, and he isn't exactly violating the restraining order. He's being careful and staying back a bit, but he isn't exactly a careful enough driver if you ask me." I said

"Bella, I understand that, but I'm very worried that he's up to something. Something inside feels that if he found a chance, he would walk right through that restraining order and God knows what he'd do." Edward said shuddering.

"I wouldn't put it past him either, truthfully. I think we need to come up with a diversion." I said.

"That is a great idea." Edward said. "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know, Edward. I want to talk to Alice. I think the three of us should sit down and discuss this."

"I agree wholeheartedly." He said holding my gaze

"I will talk to Alice when she and Jane come back from lunch. We will let you know when and where to meet." I said.

"Sounds good to me, I just want you to be safe, you know?" He said.

"I know Edward, and thank you for being concerned enough to be here." I said.

"Why the hell wouldn't I be?" Edward asked looking shocked.

"Because Edward, it's not your problem, it's not your fault, and you don't have to take responsibility in helping me" I said.

"Bella, stop worrying, I want to help. You've been a good friend to me and one of the best ones I have. Please, it would really suck for me if something happened to you" Edward said looking down at his lap.

"Okay, if you say so, I just don't want any hard feelings down the road because you helped me." I said

"Bella, I promise I'm only going to say this to you this one time, but, please, shut up. This conversation is over, I'm here for you in every way I can be because I want to, so there!" He said, and I could do nothing but blink. This was a very different Edward than I'd known.

"All right, I surrender, but it's just about time for me to get back to work. Alice and Jane will be back within the next 5 minutes and I still need to talk to Alice." I said.

"Okay Bella, please promise me you'll be careful and that you'll let me know what you and Alice set up for our meeting, okay?" He asked.

"I will, I promise Edward." I said looking him dead in the eye so he knew I would follow through.

"Okay then, until tonight fair Bella. Have a good day!" He said and then left before I could say goodbye.

He was acting strange and I wasn't sure what to think. I sat back in my chair and relaxed for the few minutes of silence before Alice and Jane returned from their lunch out. When they were around, my life wasn't all that quiet. They returned laughing about something or other.

"Hey Bella, guess what?" Jane asked quite excitedly. There was only one occasion where she used that tone.

"What is it Jane?" I asked to humor her.

"We have a new nursing person to dump on" Jane said nearly bouncing up and down.

"Oh fun, what unit?" I asked.

"Unit B-1" She said

"No shit, I like that. That means I get to dump on the new person." I said

"Have fun Bella"

It is a known fact through the hospital that new nurses and ones that the therapy departments didn't like, were chosen to do most of the paperwork that we don't want to, plus the paperwork that the nurses handle before and after their seen by us. In turn, I was elated to hear there was a new nurse on the B-1 unit, because there wasn't a nurse that I didn't like on that floor, and I hated dumping on them in turn, but we had worked out a system that rotated the paperwork amongst all of them, until now.

I looked at the calendar on my desk and luckily my next patient was coming from B-1. "Hey Jane, I guess we're going to get to meet the lucky new nurse on B-1 here in a few minutes."

"The sooner the better so he or she knows where she stands on the food chain around here." She said

I started pulling evaluation forms and setting up when I heard Jane call from the office, "Bella, your next one is here"

"Okay Jane, be there in a second." I yelled back. I took my time with the last of the set up of my therapy session. When there was absolutely nothing else I could get set up, I walked around the corner to get the chart and the patient, but when I rounded the corner, my brain shut down, and I felt like I'd walked into a wall of bricks. Alice came into the door way to see why I had stopped and was frozen, when I heard a slight gasp from her. I couldn't believe who the new nurse was, although because of the food chain rule, I was almost thrilled.

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**A/n: yes I left it hanging. I can't give too much away too soon. Song inspiration: That Song In My Head by Julianne Hough.**


	26. Unstoppable

**A/n: Hello readers, here's another chapter for you. I hope you enjoy it. I did get links to the songs I've been using on my profile, so the soundtrack is officially up! I don't own Twilight.**

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**Chapter 26**

**BPOV**

I arrived back at my condo 15 minutes before I had to meet Edward at Alice's. It had been a really good day today. Edward had surprised me by bringing me lunch, then I got to meet the new nurse for one of my units. After my initial shock wore off, I felt like laughing hysterically for hours, but restrained that reaction. I could not believe that Mike was working at the same hospital as me. It seemed my past was following me. First Edward, then my father, now Mike. I rolled my eyes and handled it, though I could tell he wasn't happy. He just had to get used to the fact that I was the one with the seniority over him now.

I was still smiling while I changed out of my work clothes and into a pair of jeans and a black long sleeved t-shirt. I brushed my hair and put on some perfume. For some reason I was nervous about seeing Edward again. I wasn't sure what was going to happen, and if the truth be told, I was starting to have feelings for him again. I sighed as I very carefully applied some make-up to my face. It was a scary thing for me to think that I could have feelings for someone again. I carefully lifted the hem of my shirt exposing the scar across my lower stomach and just stared. Luckily I was still able to have children, the miscarriage didn't sterilize me, but it was traumatizing all the same. I felt a big empty hole in my heart where my son or daughter had been.

I straightened my shirt back up and resumed applying my make-up. As soon as I was finished, I put everything away and headed out the door. I acted casually as I looked around. Of course, parked a few cars down, was the same car that I'd noticed following me. Fun, so now this person was going to find out where Alice lives. I tried to be normal as I got in my car and started the drive to Alice's. She didn't live far thank goodness, but traffic was horrible. By the time I got there, a familiar silver Volvo was already there.

I walked up to Alice's apartment and wasn't surprised to see that Edward was already there. What I wasn't expecting, was him smiling at me mischievously.

"Hey slut" Alice said.

"Hey Bitch" I said. "Hey Edward."

"Hey Bella, we want to talk to you" Edward said.

"Oh shit, this can't be good." I said jokingly.

"Just listen to us Bella, we came up with the plan" Alice said.

"You didn't wait for me?" I asked.

"Time is important, I am assuming that the same car followed you home from the hospital and waited and followed you here." Alice said.

"You would be right, and you know that Alice." I said.

"Okay then, before you go crazy, how would you feel about having a house guest?" Alice asked.

I had to admit, Alice's question caught me off guard. "Alice, Edward, will one of you please tell me what is going on without confusing the shit out of me?" I asked.

"Bella, listen, remember what we told your father at the school?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, I remember that day." I said, then it hit me. Edward is supposed to be my boyfriend. "Shit"

"She figured it out" Alice said quietly.

My legs went numb and I collapsed on her couch. I couldn't think, couldn't dare hope for what I was thinking. Voices sounded far away in my ears. As much as I was losing it, I focused on continuing to breathe normally.

"Bella, Edward has to start staying with you. He basically has to move in to make this believable." Alice said putting her hand on my knee.

"Alice, I need to talk to you alone" I said.

"I'm going down to my car." Edward said.

"No Edward, for reasons, you need to stay up here. Go into mine and Jasper's room. Jas is in there, and I'm sure you two can keep each other occupied." Alice said.

"Okay, thanks Alice."

"Not a problem Edward."

Once Edward was safely out of the living room, I turned to Alice who was sitting next to me on the couch. "Alice, are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Bella, you know this is the only way we can protect you. Can you please listen to reason?"

"I am listening to reason, I'm also very concerned about my heart too."

"Bella, I love you as my own sister, but damn you are stubborn. I think your safety is much, much more important than anything else. I know you were hurt so many years ago, but I think Edward was too. I see it every time you guys are together, and truth be told here, this was his idea."

"Alice, please tell me you are not joking."

"Bella, I would not lie to you about something like this. Please let him stay with you?"

"Okay, I will, but what about my nephews. They are coming in a few weeks and I want to protect them too."

"Don't worry, Jas and I will help with them, if nothing else, we can have them stay here with us for a few nights. They will have fun, and I know for a fact that Rose and Emmett won't mind."

"Okay, you are a life saver there."

"Oh that I know, now, that we have this settled, would you like to get the guys so we can do dinner. I'm starving."

"Whatever, you're always starving"

"Bite me"

I walked to their bedroom and knocked on the door. I could hear voices, and figured Jasper and Edward were having a talk like mine and Alice's. I heard footsteps, then Jasper was opening the door. "Hey Bells." He said.

"Hey Jasper, your girlfriend is starving. She sent me to get you guys." I said

"Sweet, hey Edward, it's food time!" Jasper said.

"Right behind you buddy!" Edward said.

I rolled my eyes at the two of them and followed as they started bugging Alice about what we were doing for dinner. While the 3 of them were talking, I casually looked at Edward. The next few weeks were certainly going to be interesting, especially having Edward living with me. My heart gave a kick at the thought. At about that point in my thoughts, the group had decided to include me in the food conversation, which stopped all contemplation about the fact that starting tonight, I wasn't living by myself anymore.

**EPOV**

It was a very simple dinner of pizza delivered. We laughed and joked, and had some deep heart to heart talks during dinner, and I was still reeling through it all. I could not believe Alice had masterminded the plan that we were about to execute. I was too nervous to believe that she would say yes to this plan, but she did. I could not believe what was about to happen now.

"Well Al, I really have to go, I have got to get up early in the morning for work" Bella said.

"Same Bells, you two should get going." Alice said.

"Edward, don't you need to go back to your apartment to get stuff?" Bella asked.

"No, Alice had me bring it before I even got here. She sent me a text message after you did outlining her master plan." I said.

"Mary Alice Brandon!" Bella exclaimed. "I should kill you!"

"Bella, it is a master plan that is fool proof and satisfies it all." Alice said placing her hands on her waist attempting to stare Bella down. It was rather a comical scene.

"I know, but seriously! Shouldn't you have at least filled me in first?" Bella asked.

"She has a point there babe" Jasper, who had been quiet through this whole thing, said quietly.

"Jasper, we have got to do something before he walks right through that restraining order" Alice retorted back.

"Can't we just deal with that when the time comes?" Bella asked throwing her hands up in the air.

"No, this is too serious Bella, and we really don't need, or want anything to happen to you." I said, trying to make her see why we came up with this plan.

"Edward, please, I didn't want to bring you into this in the first place, and now you're going to be living with me." Bella said. "I don't want you guys to worry about me!"

"Bella, we care about you. We don't want anything happening to you. All of us here love you, and if we want justice for everything that man has done to you, we need to keep you safe." I was nearly yelling. Something in me was so scared for her, and her life. I knew he had tried to take that from her before, and I wasn't about to let it happen again. After contemplating that, it took me all of 30 seconds to realize that I had just spoken my very thoughts out loud. Oh shit, was the next thing I was thinking when I saw the tears running down her face. "Please Bella, I am begging you, let us help."

"Okay guys, just so long as none of you hold this over my head later." She said.

"You bet your ass we are!" Alice said jokingly.

It was then that our argument over Bella's safety and our plan that had us arguing for the last hour. It was then that we left, and I followed Bella home in my car. I listened to the song "Unstoppable" by Rascal Flatts, a song that Alice had recommended to me, with tears streaming down my cheeks thinking about the beautiful woman in the car ahead of me. I didn't know what I would do without her, but I was sure going to make damn sure I didn't find out.

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**Yay, goal accomplished. I wanted to get you guys an update before I went on vacation, and I did. Hope you enjoyed that, more to come when I can update. Song inspiration is Unstoppable by Rascal Flatts.**


	27. Right Here Waiting For You

**A/n: Hello all, I'm back in action behind the keyboard of my computer, letting my imagination lead my fingers. Had a good and fun vacation, and ready for another one already. Anyways, on with the chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

**BPOV**

It had been a month since Edward had moved in with me, and everything was pretty much the same day in and day out. We went to work together, alternating cars and who was driving, came back and did our own thing, then we would usually have dinner together or with Alice and Jasper, then did our own thing, then went to bed. Of course, the mysterious car followed us everywhere, and Edward usually ended up taking me to work at the hospital on the day that I spent there each week. It was a good routine and it was working out well for both of us. Christmas break was coming up within a couple of weeks, and each day I got more and more nervous about having my nephews come. Edward was staying in the guest room for the time being, but what was going to happen when I got Zach and Josh?

I kept putting it off in my head, and I did once again as I was headed to the laundry room with both our dirty clothes. I liked living it a place with it's own laundry facilities. I went in and there was no one there thankfully, so I could do our laundry in peace and quiet. I started pulling out clothes, checking pockets to make sure that something that didn't belong in the laundry didn't go into the washer where it most likely would be destroyed. It was a good thing I was doing that as I found a black leather notebook wrapped up in one of Edward's shirts. I set it on the table for folding clean clothes, and finished loading the washer, then turning it on.

I sat down at the chair at the table and opened it. The front cover had my name on it, like he was intending to give it to me or something. I opened it to the first page, and what I read there took my breath away, then had tears silently streaming down my face. They were letters.

_My Dearest Bella,_

_Today is the day you left our little town for bigger things and places. I keep replaying in my head, the sight of your car driving away. It's something I don't think I will ever forget. I keep asking myself how I could be so stupid to let you drive away, from me. I'm praying to God, asking Him how he could let you do this, He is probably mad at me too. Unfortunately I cannot ask you to stay, it wouldn't be right, and very selfish on my part. What if I'd asked, would you have stayed? Would you be with me right now, in my arms? I listened to a song today that reminds me of you. I love the lyrics and I'm writing them for you now. I hope you like it._

_Oceans apart day after day _

_And I slowly go insane _

_I hear your voice on the line _

_But it doesn't stop the pain _

_If I see you next to never _

_How can we say forever_

_Wherever you go _

_Whatever you do _

_I will be right here waiting for you _

_Whatever it takes _

_Or how my heart breaks _

_I will be right here waiting for you _

_I took for granted, all the times _

_That I though would last somehow _

_I hear the laughter, I taste the tears _

_But I can't get near you now _

_Oh, can't you see it baby _

_You've got me goin' Crazy_

_Wherever you go _

_Whatever you do _

_I will be right here waiting for you _

_Whatever it takes _

_Or how my heart breaks _

_I will be right here waiting for you_

_I wonder how we can survive _

_This romance _

_But in the end if I'm with you _

_I'll take the chance _

_Oh, can't you see it baby _

_You've got me goin' crazy_

_Wherever you go _

_Whatever you do _

_I will be right here waiting for you _

_Whatever it takes _

_Or how my heart breaks _

_I will be right here waiting for you_

_It's called "Right Here Waiting For You" and I am Bella, I am. I'm just scared you won't come back to me ever. Please come back._

_Love, Edward_

The tears streaming quietly down my face increased with each beautiful letter I read. The worst hit when I read the letter he wrote after hearing about my engagement to Mike. He had heard it from his family who had seen our announcement in the paper.

_My Dearest Bella,_

_My mom called me today, she told me she saw you in the paper. Your engagement announcement. I would like to say congratulations. I can't say anything more than that because of the pain that is threatening to suffocate me right now. I hope you're happy, and that he makes you happy always. That's all I can ask for really, as a friend. I will never forget the pain of the last text message I received from you. You seemed so sad, and thought I wasn't speaking to you on purpose. Then you said the words that I want so badly to erase from my mind "good bye". I could feel your pain, and I was reeling under my own. I didn't know what to say, what to do to make you believe that I wanted to keep you in my life, if nothing else than my friend, as you always were. To this day, I can hear your laugh in my ears, and see your smile in my head, but I can also see the tears, glowing by the fading light of the sunset the day we parted ways. Now it seems your tears have been dried, and your smile back, at least I hope so. I know I've made mistakes, and I know that I've been trying to make it right, but it seems I've lost my chance. It's time for me to let go, to let you be. I hope one day I will get to see you smile again._

_Love, Edward_

Before I knew it our laundry was done, and it was time for me to take it back to the condo. Edward had spent the day with Jasper, and I was happy for the time alone, especially for that black leather notebook. I placed it on top of the clothes in the clothes basket and carried it back to my condo. I placed the notebook on the bed in the guest room, and I placed the clothes basket in the hallway where no one could trip over it. I found a paper and pen, and composed my own letter to Edward then called Alice and made plans to do a girls night out.

After our plans were made, I got in the shower and let the hot water run over me. I couldn't believe what I had discovered today, and I needed Alice's opinion. I dressed in my favorite pair of blue jeans, and a black tank top under a red sweater. By the time I was done with my make up, it was time for me to head out. I cursed at the fact that I didn't have time to have a cigarette and had to smoke in my car. I was just hoping for a miracle as I drove to meet Alice at our restaurant.

**EPOV**

It was a little after dark when I got back to the condo. I used my key to open the door, and was shocked to find all of the lights off. I flipped on the switch for the living room lights, but she wasn't on the couch sleeping like she sometimes did. I walked towards where our bedrooms were, and her door was wide open like it was when she wasn't in there. I went into my room and turned on the light. My black notebook was lying at the foot of the bed. She must've found it when she did the laundry. I looked at it closer and saw a piece of paper sticking out from the front cover. It was a letter from her.

_Edward,_

_I'm sorry, I found this wrapped in one of your shirts when I did the laundry. Don't be mad at me, I did read it a little bit. Your writing is beautiful, and your heart and soul shine through every word. It seems we've both been living in pain and settling for something that we didn't think we would ever have again. If you can forgive me, please text me. I'm going to be out with Alice for a girls night out to clear my head, and maybe allow myself to hope again. Edward, I've been burying this for a long time, but I never loved Mike, only you, and I still do, I'm just plain scared. If you don't text me, please just be my friend, and I will deal with my own pain._

_Love, Bella_

My knees wobbled and I found myself sitting on my bed. How long had I been hoping and praying for this letter. I fished my cell phone from my pocket and pulled up a new message to send to my Bella. There was no way I was letting this second chance pass. Somehow I had managed to make things right, and I got the chance I'd been praying for since the day she drove away from me. I typed a message as fast as I could putting as much of my heart in it as I could for a text. I put my phone back in my pocket and left the room and started lighting the candles she had placed around the living room. I cleaned up a little bit and changed my clothes so I looked half way decent and she wouldn't run screaming from me. Once I was done, I turned off all the lights and sat on the couch until I heard her footsteps approaching the door. When I heard her key in the door, I stood and turned towards it so I could look at her.

When she opened the door and stepped in, I heard her gasp, and I lost my breath looking at how beautiful she was.

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**A/n: please don't be mad at me, I had to leave it off where it was. My inspiration for this is the song Right Here Waiting For You by Richard Marx.**


	28. You're Never Gonna Be Alone

**An: Hello all, sorry I haven't been able to update until now. Work has been crazy as all get out, and it's starting to exhaust me. Anyways, on with the chapter!**

**Chapter 28**

**BPOV**

The next morning, I attempted to roll over as I was sure last night was a dream. I didn't believe it really happened, until I attempted to roll over, to find that I was pinned down by an arm. My head collapsed back on my pillow, and the memories last night played through my mind.

_*Flash Back*_

_My phone started going off in my purse. I had been talking to Alice for the last hour and a half about the notebook, the letters, the feelings Edward had expressed in his letters, my feelings, and questions about where things were going from here. I gave Alice an incredulous look and dug out my cell phone when it started going off rather randomly. She literally was bouncing up and down on her seat when I pulled my phone out and opened it. I'm pretty sure the smile that was starting to form on my face would probably split my face open. I knew Alice had been watching me when I heard a squeak from her side of the table._

_I handed my phone to Alice so that she could see what Edward had sent me. She read the words that I had burned into my head. "Bella, I got your letter, please come home to me. I need to see you. ~E" Alice slid my phone back to me grinning from ear to ear, wiggling her eyebrows at me suggestively._

"_Oh Alice, don't look at me that way yet." I said not daring to get my hopes up again._

"_Bella, I read that message, and so did you. He wants you to go back to your place, he wants to start over again." Alice said throwing her hands up in the air practically yelling at me._

"_Alice, I know you're the hopeless fucking romantic, but I'm too much the realistic." I said._

"_And that's the crux of your damn problem Bella. You way over think things and doubt yourself." Alice said._

"_Alice" I groaned._

"_Bella, don't give me your shit, just get going and call me tomorrow morning when you get up." She said._

_I sighed knowing I wasn't going to get anywhere arguing with Alice, so I grabbed my wallet from my purse, and put half the money for our dinner on the table. "Alice, I will speak to you in the morning. Tomorrow's the first day of my extended Christmas break, and I need to figure out what to do with my nephews when they get here."_

"_Okay, have fun" She said._

_I rolled my eyes, and left the restaurant. I practically ran to my car, my heart pounding in my chest so hard that I could hear it in my ears. There were a million situations that I could be walking into head first with no protection, and really no warning at all whatsoever. My head was racing with possibilities as I drove my car back home. I parked it in its usual spot and noticed the same blue crossover had followed me home again._

_I walked into the building and headed up to my condo. My heart kept pounding in my chest really hard. I took deep breaths to calm myself down. My hands were shaking hard as I turned the key in the lock to open my door. When it finally unlocked and swung open, I gasped._

_My living room was bathed in candlelight and Edward was standing in front of the couch smiling gently at me. My heart was pounding, and all the fear and insecurities were screaming at me in my head. It caused tears to start silently falling down my cheeks. All I could do was stand there, I barely noticed the fact that the door had swung closed behind me._

"_Bella, I got your note. I want to ask you something. Is that okay?" Edward asked, a bit of uncertainty lacing his voice._

"_Yeah" I said, my voice barely working._

"_Would you be able or willing to give me a second chance to make things right?" he asked._

_By now my shock had worn off, but I kind of thought I was going deaf. There's no way he just asked me that. "What do you mean Edward? As a friend or more? I have to know."_

"_I want a second chance to be with you as more than just your friend. I'm sick of just being a friend to girls I like, and I've damn near screwed everything up with you, no wait, I did do it." He said looking down at his hands folded in front of him._

"_First we need to sit down and talk through this" I said walking towards the couch._

_We both sat down, me at one end, him at the other, facing each other._

"_Bella, I need to tell you so much. First of them being, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not ever showing you how I felt. I'm sorry for letting you drive away believing I didn't feel anything for you. I'm sorry I let you drive away in the first place. I'm sorry I didn't fight for you when I found out you were with Mike. I'm just sorry for everything. I think the only thing I'm not sorry about is pretending to be with you for your father. I was ecstatic to do that for you because I've wanted and still do want to be with you." He said, almost without taking a breath._

"_Edward, why did you let me drive away? Why did we let this happen?" I asked._

"_It was me being an idiot Bella, none of this is on you. I was scared, and I felt selfish thinking about asking you to stay for me."_

"_But I should have fought back for you." I said tears coming to the surface again._

"_What are you talking about Bella?" He asked._

"_I mean, I thought you did like me, and I had thought something was holding you back, but I didn't press it, and I just let it go so easily. I thought if I'd go through, or at least seem like I was going to go through with leaving, you would ask me to stay." I said looking him right in the eye._

"_I was so stupid" He said looking down, and I immediately felt bad for making him feel bad about leaving, but the truth was, it was my fault we fell apart back then._

"_The good thing is though Edward, is we are now full grown adults, and we have the ability, to turn a mistake into a second chance to make things right." I said smiling._

"_Bella, are you saying what I think you are?" He asked picking his head up to look me in the eye. I could tell he was fighting a smile._

"_If you want to make this right, we have the chance, and we might as well take it before we end up making another mistake." I said smiling at him._

"_Well, in that case Miss. Swan, would you be my girlfriend?" He asked, a huge smile plastered across his face._

"_On one condition Cullen." I said smirking at him._

"_Uh-oh, this can't be good" He mumbled._

"_This little revelation does not get in the way of our professional lives at the school." I said. I hadn't totally gotten tenure at the school yet, and I wasn't about to give the school board a reason not to give it to me._

"_Bella, I think we're adult enough to handle that." He said ginning. "Does that mean I get my 'yes' now?"_

"_Hmm, I guess." I joked then rolled my eyes. "Just kidding, of course that means you get your yes now."_

_I don't know when or exactly how it happened, but suddenly I was in his arms and being held by him. I could hear him whispering something, but it was so low that I couldn't understand. We ended up staying up talking most of the night, and I had made coffee some time during the conversation. We laughed, we almost cried, and we did a lot of reminiscing, but in the end, we'd ended up together._

After the memories from last night had finished filtering through my head, I rolled my head to the side to see Edward's face, peaceful in sleep beside me. I couldn't, and really wouldn't stop the feeling of pure happiness, pure bliss, pure everything that washed over me. I wiggled myself so I was laying on my side facing him and I memorized his features in sleep, then I wiggled my way out of bed.

I grabbed my cell phone and made my way out to my balcony for the first cigarette of the day. After I had that lit, I punched in the speed dial number for Alice.

"Bella, so help me God, this had better be good" She growled into the phone upon answering it.

"Well hello to you too. I'm merely following the instructions that you commanded of me when I left dinner last night" I said.

"Bella, what is going on? You're never in this good of mood at this time of morning." Alice said, cheery again. _Damn to hell perky morning people _I thought.

"Well Alice, if you get anymore nosy, I'm going to have to throw a shoe at you the next time you're over. Anyway, Edward and I talked about things, for most of the night actually, but in the end, we're together." I said giving her the readers digest version. I very nearly was deafened by the sound of the scream coming through the phone before I pulled it away from my ear. What I barely heard was the audible thump that sounded after it started from her side of the phone.

"Stop shrieking Alice, you're going to wake up both neighborhoods" I yelled to the phone.

The shrieking then stopped and I hear Jasper's confused voice in the background. "Alice, baby, what's wrong? Why are you shrieking like that at this hour of the morning? Don't you know you're going to wake the neighbors?"

I had to laugh at the shocked tone of Jasper's voice and the barrage of questions. It was her response to him that had me in absolute hysterics.

"Jasper, I realize you're none too happy right now, but you'll live. As far as the neighbors, I don't give a shit, this is way more important, my best friend and your brother are finally together after all their bullshit."

"Well it's about damn time Bella" Jasper yelled towards Alice's cell phone. "And I'm fine by the way Alice"

Alice's deep sigh came through the line. "He's over dramatizing things. Just because he's the dumb ass that fell out of bed." She ranted.

"Well go check on your lover boy and I will see you later I'm sure." I said hearing noises from the other side of the glass door.

"All righty, and I will be contacting you for plans tonight." Alice warned. "Oh, and by the way, congratulations."

"Thanks Alice, for the warning and the congrats wishes. I've got to go, I think someone woke up." I said.

"Talk to you later chicky" She said.

"Bye bye Alice" I said laughing and shaking my head.

Hanging up the phone, I got up and went back inside. Edward was standing in the doorway to our bedroom. "Good morning!" I said.

"Morning Bella" He said walking up to me and pulling me into his arms.

"Well, now it's really a good morning. What woke you up?" I asked.

"I faintly heard someone screaming like they were being murdered." He said looking deeply into my eyes, worry the most prominent emotion in his. I had to stifle a laugh until after I told him who was screaming and why.

"Edward, no one's being murdered, now anyway, later may be a different story, but I made a promise to Alice last night that I would call her this morning. So, I did, and damn she's perky in the morning, though I think I interrupted something because of the initial irritation for my call, and Jasper apparently falling out of bed, but I digress. Anyway, I recounted to her in Reader's Digest form about last night, and well, she started shrieking which caused Jasper's falling out of bed, the almost shattering of my ear drums, and you being woken up." I said, almost in one breath and finally cracking up.

"Wow, she's got a set of vocal cords that I'm sure could wake up the entire state of Indiana." Edward said, joining me in cracking up laughing.

"Yeah, that'd be her. She is going to be bugging me later about getting all of us together tonight, just warning you now" I said.

"God, help me?" Edward asked looking towards the ceiling.

"Yeah, there's most likely not a way out of this." I said giving him an apologetic look. Hopefully I would be able to keep Alice in some form of control and not going overboard with plans.

"I didn't think so." He said. "I have a surprise for you."

"Oh?" I asked.

"Just come here." He said walking me over to the sofa and having me sit. "Now Bella, please close your eyes until I say so?"

"Edward, I better not regret this!" I warned.

"You won't" He said as I placed my hands over my already closed eyes. "Do you trust me?"

"In theory?" I said, but it came out as more of a question than a statement.

"Trust me, you will like this I think" He said kissing me on the cheek.

A few minutes and unexplainable noises later, he told me that I could open my eyes. Nothing had changed except for the fact that my stereo system was on and Edward was standing in front of me with the remote in his hand. He pressed the play button and started singing.

"Time, is going by, so much faster than IAnd I'm starting to regret not spending all of here with youNow I'm wondering why I've kept this bottled insideSo I'm starting to regret not selling all of it to youSo if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you knowYou're never gonna be alone from this moment onIf you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fallYou're never gonna be alone, I'll hold you 'til the hurt is goneAnd now, as long as I can, I'm holding on with both hands'Cause forever I believeThat there's nothing I could need but youSo if I haven't yet, I've gotta let you knowYou're never gonna be alone from this moment onIf you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fallWhen all hope is gone, I know that you can carry onWe're gonna see the world out, I'll hold you 'til the hurt is goneOh, you've gotta live every single dayLike it's the only one, what if tomorrow never comes?Don't let it slip away, could be our only oneYou know it's only just begun, every single dayMaybe our only one, what if tomorrow never comes?Tomorrow never comesTime is going by so much faster than IAnd I'm starting to regret not telling all of this to youYou're never gonna be alone from this moment onIf you ever feel like letting go, I won't let you fallWhen all hope is gone, I know that you can carry onWe're gonna see the world out, I'll hold you 'til the hurt is goneI'm gonna be there alwaysI won't be missing a word all dayI'm gonna be there alwaysI won't be missing a word all day"

My eyes filled with tears as I leaped off the couch into his arms. It wasn't long before our lips came together for our first kiss ever.


	29. Tik Tok

**A/n: Hello again all, sorry for the length of time between updates. I'm having a small argument with the computer...and now in order to post this, I have to borrow the ethernet cable my finacee uses...oh well, he'll live. Just as a reminder cuz I have to, but I don't own Twilight or characters, I'm just borrowing them. On with my chapter now.**

**Chapter 29**

**EPOV**

Bella and I spent a great day together. We stayed in our pajamas all day and watched movies all day long. We alternated every other movie, one she liked, and one I liked. Sometimes we watched one that we both liked, but otherwise it continued in the matter of every other movie. We ordered in pizza and wings for lunch, and we ate on the couch while watching the movie marathon we had going. Every once in a great while she'd go out on the balcony to smoke, and a couple of times I went with her to keep her company. She was still the same Bella who could keep a conversation with me for a good while. When it started heading to late afternoon, she got restless, and went to the hall closet and grabbed a blue bag with a pink heart on it. When she opened it, I was shocked to see knitting needles and yarn pulled out along with a clipboard and pen with a pattern on it. She knew I noticed and laughed at me.

"Yes Edward, I knit. I'm working on a baby blanket for Josh, my nephew who's coming." she said.

"I didn't know you knit." I said watching her start moving the needles rapidly with the yarn.

"Started while I was in college just before I moved." She said. "My first project was a baby blanket for Mike's sister when she was pregnant."

"Oh" I said. I was kind of at a loss for words. She hand made things for people, which was very special, especially because she spent her time to do so.

We sat in silence for a while, the only sounds filling the area from the movie, and the clicking of the knitting needles as she worked. She was going very fast, and every once in a while, she'd stop to write something down on the clipboard, or take a drink of the soda on the table next to her. She was so captivating, I couldn't help the fact that I caught myself staring. The next thing I knew the phone was ringing, and Bella had answered it.

"Hello?" she said. I laughed because I could hear Alice through the phone.

"So, we have to do something tonight Bella" I heard her say.

"Alice!" Bella groaned.

"Come on, do you know how long I've been waiting to double date with you?" Alice asked. Damn the girl had it out to guillt trip her into this.

"I realize that, but I don't want to go out" She said.

"Who says we have to go out Bella? Though I was kind of hoping you'd be up for some karaoke." Alice said. "Just a small town girl, living in a lonely world..." Alice sang next.

"Alice! No karaoke tonight. Maybe next double date" Bella said firmly.

"Fine" Alice sounded rather dejected. "do you want to cook something?"

"I was thinking about ordering something from the Diner and getting it."

"Ooh, that sounds good! Do you want to call and order it, then Jasper and I can pick it up when we come?" Alice asked

"That sounds like a great idea. Please bring some form of entertainment and alcohol with you please" Bella said. What kind of night was this going to turn into? I wondered

"Don't worry, you know me, we will have a blast!" Alice said.

"Okay, I'm trusting you here Alice Mary! Now, what do you want from the Diner?" Bella asked producing a notebook from the knitting bag.

"Jasper wants a bacon cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard and onion, I want a large bowl of their chili, and a ceasar salad with extra tomatoes and I want crumbled feta cheese on it instead of cheap salad cheese they use." Alice said.

"All right Alice, I got all of that written down for you. Do you need me to repeat it back?" Bella asked rolling her eyes at me.

"Yes ma'am."

"All right, I have a bacon cheeseburger for Jasper with ketchup, mustard and onion, and for you, a large thing of chili and a ceasar salad with extra tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese. Is that correct?"

"Good girl, you got it all." Alice said happily.

"All right Ali, I'm calling the Diner to place the order here in a couple of minutes, I'll call you back so you know when it will be ready. The order will be placed with my name on it." Bella said.

"Okay good deal. See you guys in a little bit, and I'll talk to you soon." Alice promised.

"Yep that you will. Bye!" Bella said hanging up on Alice.

She sighed as she placed the phone on the arm of the couch.

"Do you need to see a Diner menu?" She asked.

"Yes please my dear" I said, and noticing she blushed at my comment.

She got up and went to the kitchen. I followed her out, and watched as she opened a drawer in the kitchen and started digging through the papers in it. She finally found the menu that she had been looking for and slid the drawer with her hip which made my mouth start watering. That admittedly was hot.

"Here. They have great food, order what you want. Alice and Jasper will front the money when they pick the food up then I'll pay them back when they get here. It's a tradition for us." Bella said shrugging.

I looked at the menu at the different stuff that they served trying to figure out what I was in the mood to eat. Unfortunately the replay in my head of Bella pusing the drawer this had come out of kept my brain sidetracking and that kept me trying to keep from drooling all over her carpet. It also hindered me from making a decision.

After about 10 minutes, in the time Bella had apparently gone into her room and changed into blue jeans and a black form fitting t-shirt, I had finally made a decision.

"Have you decided yet?" she asked looking at me with amusement.

"I think so anyway. I want a tuna melt on white" I said handing the menu over to her.

"All righty, go change if you want, and I'll get our food ordered and Alice called back.

I went in the guest room where my clothes were and sat down on the bed. So much had changed within the last 24 hours, and I was so amazed at where we were then, and where we are now. It almost seemed like yesterday that I had willingly let her walk out of my life, and watched as it seemed like it was going to be forever, but then when she walked into the gym where I teach that day for the first time, it filled me with hope, but also an unbearable sadness. Now none of that mattered now, she was mine, just as I always hoped she would be.

I changed into something nicer, and joined her in the living room. She was putting away her knitting, and cleaned up the area from our lunch and movie marathon. The area was spotless when she was done. I was entirely fascinated watching her.

"Edward" she called from the kitchen.

"Yes, Bella?" I asked from the doorway, startling her.

"I need help geting this place set up for tonight, seeing as there's going to be quite some amusement. Could you please get the vodka and something for you from the liquor cabinet and put them on the coffee table in the living room? I will pull a few glasses and a few shot glasses, and I'll need you to put them with the bottles."

"Yes, my dear" I said turning to the dining room wall where the liquor cabinet was. I pulled out her bottle of vodka and a bottle of Crown Royal and walked them both to the coffee table in the living room. I then walked back to the kitchen where on the counter directly to the right of me had the shot glasses and regular drinking glasses on. I also noticed she was bent over with her head in the refrigerator. I wondered what all she was getting, but mostly I was distracted by the fact that her ass was sticking way up in the air. "Okay Bella, everything is set out just the way you said." I told her as I stared at the position she was in fighting the ever present threat of me getting an erection.

"Thank you" She said from inside the refrigerator. She stood straight up and brushed her hair out of her face. "You need to know, whenever we have a drinking party, there is a certain way the soda is stocked in the fridge. Coke and the orange juice which are the most used are put on the top shelf. Other juice, here in the middle, then on the bottom shelf, the remaining soda and any beer." As she spoke she pointed to each shelf in the refrigerator so I could see what she meant.

"I will try and remember that. Is there anything else that needs to be done before dinner gets here?" I asked

"Nope, we're all set for now." She said. "Although, there is one thing I'd like from you before Alice gets here and makes fun of us."

"Anything Bella, what do you want?" I asked, swallowing hard.

"Kiss me?" She asked turning a slight shade of pink.

"You don't even have to ask" I said as I stepped in closer to her, and kissed her lightly on the lips. Because of murphy, and his damn law, the doorbell rang at that moment.

"Stupid Murphy's law" she spat. "That'd be Alice and Jasper with food."

"I figured" I replied.

She kissed me briefly on the cheek before going to the door to let Jasper and Alice in. I followed her out to greet them.

"Hey you, don't you know it's impolite to keep your guests waiting at the door." Alice said as soon as Bella got the door open. "What were you doing, making out?"

"No Alice, I was stocking the refrigerator like you taught me years ago." Bella said rolling her eyes at Alice.

"Oh good, you did remember. Did you teach the new comer?" She asked.

"Yes, Edward knows now how to stock the refrigerator for our parties, and correctly." She said. "Now I'm starving, can we eat dinner now?"

"Yes we do come bearing food." Jasper said quitetly from behind Alice, holding up the bag to show us they did actually have the food with them.

I took the bag from Jasper and Bella motioned for me to the dining room table which she had set while I was changing out of my pajamas from our movie day together. I placed the bag in the center of the table and opened it to start sorting out the food when Alice snatched it away from me.

"Hey, I think I can handle the food." I said.

"I'm sure you can, but nose out. I'll pass out the food once everyone sits down. Go get something non-alcoholic to drink from the kitchen." She said.

"Yes boss." I retorted to her over my shoulder.

"Don't call me that, it's yes pixie to you sir Edward." She called.

I laughed as I made my way to the refrigerator. I opened it and pulled out a can of coke. I turned around to ask Bella what she wanted to drink to find her standing directly behind me.

"Can I help you miss?" I asked playfully.

"Yes, could you please grab me a ginger ale?" She asked.

"Your wish is my command." I replied and then kissed her lightly.

"Just grab and lets go before Alice has a conniption." She laughed.

I grabbed both cans and followed her out to the dining room table where our food, Jasper, and Alice were waiting. Once we all were sitting, Alice grabbed the bag of food and started handing us each a box with our food in it. I took mine and opened it and took a deep breath in. The smell of the tuna melt smelled delicious. I took a big bite out of it and nearly moaned at how good it tasted.

"So how do you like your sandwich?" Jasper asked.

"It's very good" I replied with my mouth half full of food.

"That's why we love the diner. They make excellent food, from scratch." Jasper said.

"Wow, I like" I replied.

"So Bella, how's work going?" Asked Alice.

"It's going, very busy" She replied. "I wish I had more time off to get ready for my nephews."

"If you want, I can help you out with whatever you need to get done around here, and I'm sure Jasper would be happy to help too." Alice said.

"That would be wonderful Alice, thank you." Bella said. "At least Embry isn't trying to kill you with paperwork."

"Yeah I got lucky. Aren't you using your newbie to lighten the load?" Asked Alice.

"I am somewhat, for some reason I can't find it in me to dump on him as much as our past newbies." Bella replied.

"I didn't know you guys had a newbie." I said.

"Yeah" Bella replied.

"We do, and not just any newbie either." Alice said giving Bella a very pointed look, as Jasper nudged her in the elbow with his.

"Why do I get the feeling there is something somebody's not telling me?" I asked, curious as to what it was about this newbie that they hadn't told me about.

"Our newbie is Mike, and I just found out a couple of weeks ago." Bella said softly.

I had no response. I was shocked to say the least, and because of that shock, it sent me sinking back in my chair. I looked at Bella who was looking at her lap, then Alice who was just moving her salad around in its box, then at Jasper who was absently rubbing his fingers over his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry Edward." Bella said after a moment of pure silence.

"It's ok Bella, I understand, I just am shocked is all." I replied taking her hand

I stroked the back of her hand with my thumb gently.

"Ok enough with the heavy, let's get drinking!" Alice said standing up breaking the weird mood that had settled over the room.

We all got up and left the table headed for the living room, where all the alcohol and glasses were set out.

"Okay, first things first, everyone has to do a shot of their choice." Alice announced.

I looked over at Bella to find her looking at me with a look that said _oh shit here we go_. I nodded infinitesimally acknowledging her silent message. Honestly it was the same thought running through my head, but hey, us and alcohol were fun, so why question so we each poured a shot of our alcohol of choice.

"Now a toast." Alice announced. "To Bella and Edward, may you be happy always, and to our friendship which has survived the test of time."

We all clinked our shot glasses together and drank back our shots. The liquid warmed me all the way to my stomach.

"Now that we did that, what did you bring for our entertainment?" Bella asked. Her cheeks were flushed and I knew it wouldn't be much longer before she'd be feeling the effects of the alcohol.

"Instead of telling you, why don't I just show you." Alice stated going for a bag resting against the door.

For some reason, just looking at the bag had me nervous. I didn't know what was in it, but knowing Alice like I do, I'm sure it would be crazy. She walked it across the room before setting it on the couch across from us.

"I know it's crazy, and we have to get a little drunker first, but, here we go." She said. She pulled out a white box, and turned it around. When I got a glimpse of it, I gasped, we were in trouble.

"Alice, what the...?" Bella asked, her sentence trailing off.

"Welcome to drunk strip Twister." Alice squealed.

"Uh oh" I whispered at the same time Bella gasped. This was going to be a very long night.


	30. That's Not My Name

**Chapter 30**

**BPOV**

"Welcome to drunk strip Twister" Alice announced which caused me to gasp as Edward let out a quiet uh oh.

"Alice when I said bring something for entertainment, I did not mean something outrageous like this. I feel like we're crossing a line here." I said, trying to talk her out of this crazy plan.

"Bella, keep drinking and this will be the best idea out there." Alice said.

"Jasper, help" Edward said, his voice an octave or two higher than normal.

"I've tried talking her down Edward, Bella, but she won't budge on this." Jasper said looking anywhere but at any of us directly.

I sighed knowing how stubborn Alice is, but feeling very uncomfortable after the entertainment suggestion. "Please excuse me for a moment" I said needing to escape.

I walked out to the balcony and sat down on my chair. My head was spinning and I didn't even know how to begin organizing my thoughts. I grabbed my pack of cigarettes off the table to my right, and pulled one out. Just as I got it lit, I heard the balcony door open and close.

"Hey honey, are you okay?" Edward asked.

I blew out the smoke from my first drag, and looked down at my feet. "I'm okay, I'm trying to keep myself calm enough that I don't kill Alice. This is ridiculous Edward." I ranted. I took another drag off my cigarette to help calm myself down. It wasn't Edward's fault Alice came up with the worst entertainment idea in the world.

"I understand sweetie, I really do. Let's just go in and visit with Alice and Jasper, have a couple of drinks, and we'll forget about her absolutely ridiculous idea." He said placing a hand on my knee.

"Okay, I can do that." I said. I put out my half smoked cigarette and gave Edward a small smile.

"All right, let's go back in and have a good time." He replied with his absolutely amazing crooked smile. He stood to go inside and held his hand out to me. I took it without hesitating, and followed him inside.

Alice and Jasper looked up when we walked in, Alice's eyes were rimmed in red. "I think Alice has something she would like to say to you guys" Jasper started after I closed the balcony door.

We walked over to the matching love seat to my couch and sat down facing Alice and Jasper. Edward kept my hand in his the entire time, squeezing every now and then to let me know he was still there, supporting me. "All right, we're listening" he said.

"Bella, Edward, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ever thought of this. It was never my intention to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable." She said.

"Thank you Alice for apologizing, and we do forgive you. Let's just sit and have a few drinks and visit." I said.

"All right, sounds good to me." She replied with a smile.

We all poured another shot and toasted to making up, then drank them down. Then we poured our first round of drinks. I looked at Edward and decided that maybe this will be a good night after all.

I don't know how many hours we'd been drinking and attempting to talk about normal things, but we'd finally hit the point where talking was not making any sense whatsoever. Speech was slurred, and for the life of me, I couldn't stop laughing, even at the stupidest things.

"Let'sth pway reguwar Twith-taaah" Alice laughed. "Gir-wes onwy"

"Thounts goooot to me." I replied, then burst out laughing.

"I can thpin fow you" Jasper said. "Ed can hewp"

"Yeah, I hewp 'asper." Edward said leaning all over the place. None of us were sitting up straight, and I swear the room wouldn't stop spinning.

"Make woom thtop thpinning" I laughed out.

"thpinny thpinny woom" Edward sing-sang out.

"Tome on, wet's pway" Alice said standing up and grabbing my hand. We stumbled over to the table the Twister game was sitting on, and opened it. It took us a little bit, but we finally got the game set up on the floor in the living room in front of the hallway to the bedrooms and bathrooms.

"Who'th thpinning again?" I asked.

"I am!" Jasper exclaimed stumbling over to us. He ran into the wall and started laughing before taking the spinner out of my hands.

"I gotst an idear." Edward yelled from the couch. "Whoever lootheth takth a thot."

"I'm in Ed" I said.

"Thame" Alice giggled.

And that's when the game started. Me with left hand yellow, which took me a minute to figure out which hand was my left, and Alice with her right foot on red. What seemed like an hour later, Alice and I were in the most comprimising position, and we were both laughing our asses off at everything. Edward and Jasper kept fighting over the spinner and whos turn it was to spin. The last spin was Edward spinning for how I had to move. I got right foot blue, and accidentally bumped Alice which caused her socked foot to slip and fall, effectively knocking me over. Both of us landed on the floor laughing so hard tears were streaming down our face.

"Awice deah, you have to do a thot" I taunted when I could finally breathe.

"Yay! More alcohol" She squealed eliciting more laughter from all of us.

She stumbled her way over to the coffee table where she poured herself a shot of rum and downing it in a gulp. I suddenly felt the desire to do another shot, not that I needed more alcohol. I stumbled my way to the coffee table, and poured my own shot of vodka from the second bottle we opened and then downed it.

"I think it'th time to change the wules." Edward announced.

"What do you have in mind dearetht" I asked plopping my ass on the floor. "Thit"

"Thtripping and drinking combined, and we aww pway togever" Edward said pointing at nothing in particular. His pointer finger was just going in circles around the room.

"Otay" I said in a much perkier tone of voice than normal.

"I'm in" Alice said attempting standing and landing on her ass next to me. "Thit" she laughed.

"Goot idear bra" Jasper said attempting to high-five Edward but hitting the wall across from him.

"We gotst to set wules" Alice said matter-of-factly from where she sat on the floor next to me.

"Firtht, we need another perthon to thpin the thpinny thingy" I said.

"Who do we know that would do that?" Jasper asked.

"Let'th think" Edward said putting his pointer finger on his temple pretending to think hard about who we could call to spin the spinner for us. Someone we wouldn't be embarassed stripping in front of.

"I go thmoke firtht." I said using the couch to pull myself off the floor to a standing position that was quite wobbly. _Thank you almighty vodka_. I thought to myself.

I managed to get myself out to my balcony safely, and into the chair there without falling over the railing. It took two attempts to get my cigarette lit, but I finally got it lit, and started taking drags off of it. I looked into my condo a number of times, watching my friends talk, and laugh. Alice had her cell phone up to her ear, and was talking into it, while trying to talk to the guys at the same time. Watching this from the outside was rather quite amusing, and I found myself laughing uncontrollably at them, so much so, I could not finish my cigarette.

I put out the cigarette, as Alice ended the call on her phone then raised her fists over her head in a victory gesture.

"Tho what are you tho happy 'bout?" I asked stumbling my way over to them. I tripped over my own feet on the carpet, and landed in Edward's arms. I laughed into his chest waiting for the answer to the question that I had asked a moment ago.

"We found a thpinner" Jasper announced. He'd apparently collapsed on his ass next to Alice while I was out on the balcony smoking.

"Oh, who?" I asked curiously.

"Jane" Alice said happily.

"Oh otay, thounds goot" I said. "When will she be here?"

"Thee thaid to give her 10 minuteth." Alice replied.

"Otay" I said then proceeded to plop down on the floor in front of Edward's feet to wait for Jane. Luckily she was a close friend outside of work too, or else I wouldn't have approved this, at least I think I wouldn't have at this point. I knew she was trustworthy because she refused to drink, and when she did, she refused to get drunk.

Within 10 minutes of me coming in from the balcony, there was a knock on my door. Edward, who was the only person standing already, stumbled towards the door to let the person on the other side in. He opened it to Jane, who was smiling with silent laughter in her sea blue eyes.

"So, what is going on here?" She asked happily.

"We ith dwunk" I called to her from my spot on the floor.

"I figured when Alice called me giggling and slurring her words, much like you are Bella." Jane laughed. Edward still hadn't moved out of the way so she could get in.

"You gonna letter in Ed?" Alice asked, still wobbling in her place on the floor by the coffee table.

He suddenly realized that he was blocking her from coming into the condo, and stumbled back to let her in.

"Take it easy there." She said grabbing his wrist to stop him from falling down, and the door handle to keep it from slamming into the wall. "Why don't you sit down before you fall and hurt yourself?"

"Where'th the fun in that?" He asked leaning towards her. She laughed at his outrageous drunk behavior but he sat down next to the doorway.

Jane laughed lightly and closed the open door. She stepped in further and removed her coat."So Alice mentioned needing someone to spin something for Twister?"

"Yeah, we need a tpinner tho aww of us can pway Twithter." Alice said.

"Okay, I think I can handle that. What are the game play rules?" Jane asked looking at each of us.

"Haven't started on the wules yet." I said.

"Okay, hold off on the rules until I can find paper and a pen to write them down." Jane replied.

"Wook in vee kitchen." I told her trying to point in the general direction of the kitchen.

"Okay Bella" She laughed walking out of the living room into the kitchen. I heard her opening and closing various drawers looking for a pen and paper to record the rules for drunk strip Twister. After a few drawers were opened then closed, Jane returned to the living room with my mini notebook and a pen. "All right" she started before sitting down at the bar between the living room and kitchen. "Rule one is?"

"Wule one thoud be that no girlth pantieth come off." Edward said, and Alice and I nodded in agreement.

"Okay, so if you're a girl, you cannot remove your panties. Got it." Jane replied. "Rule two?"

"Thocks are wemoved one at a time, and can't be the fewst item of cwoving wemoved." Alice suggested. We all again nodded in agreement.

"Okay, rule two, socks cannot be the first item of clothing removed, but when they are, they have to be removed one at a time. Rule three?" Jane said.

"If you fall, you wemove a piece of cwoving and keep pwaying until aww cwoving hath been wemoved. Once thtripped you're out." I suggested.

"Goot idear baby" Edward called out from across the room.

"Okay, let's focus for a minute. I know that's hard to do when you're as drunk as you all are, but we got to get the ground rules set." Jane said sternly from her seat. "Rule four?"

"If two peopoe are in a 69, they bofe have to do a thhot of alcohow chosen by the thpinner." Jasper called out.

"Rule five should be that if you fall, you have to do a shot before returning to the game unless you're out." Jane suggested.

"Goot idear Jane." Alice giggled.

"I fink vat's all vee wules we need" Edward said. We all agreed, and with that we started the game with Jane as our spinner.

**EPOV**

Pain. That's the first thing I registered coming conscious. My eyes barely opened, but the short amount of time that they were, the pain in my head got worse if that were at all possible. It felt like someone was trying to rip apart my head from the inside out. All I managed to make out was that it was daylight outside, the sun was shining through the balcony door, and I was in the living room, laying down. I used all my other senses to figure out where I was laying, that way I didn't have to try opening my eyes again.

I felt around me, I was obviously on the floor somewhere in the living room area since I could feel the carpet under my hands, and suddenly the floor felt kind of hard against my back, and someone had covered me with a blanket. I felt around some more and realized I was completely naked under the blanket.

_Oh shit, what did we do last night?_

I stretched my arms out to the side of me and felt around some more. I could feel the corner of another blanket, but I was not opening my eyes to find out who was under that blanket. I could hear soft sounds coming out of the kitchen, each one though sounded as though it was amplified just to torture me.

A few minutes after the torturous noises had stopped, I smelled coffee permeating the air. I inhaled deeply, enjoying the smell imensely.

_If only I could inhale coffee through my nose and get the effects of the caffiene that way instead of having to get up and get a cup to drink._

I chanced opening my eyes again, and immediately regretted it, and groaned out loud at the pain that it caused me. I rolled over to my stomach, and buried my face in my arms. Then I felt someone nudge my arm.

"Who's there?" I groaned out.

"It's Jane, I made coffee, and I heard you waking up. I brought you a cup of coffee." A woman said softly. For some reason I couldn't remember who this Jane person was and what she was doing here. I decided to just go with it.

I propped myself up on my arms, and accepted the coffee cup she placed into my hands. "Thanks for the coffee Jane. I need this I think. What happened last night?" I asked before taking the first sip of coffee.

_Damn, that's good fucking coffee._

"Why don't we wait until the others wake up before I go telling stories from last night." Jane said softly.

After I drank what I assume was half the cup of coffee, I opened my eyes again, which hurt, but not quite as much as before the coffee. Sitting cross legged next to me was a woman with shoulder lenghth blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was wearing blue jeans and a Purdue University hoodie.

"Thanks for the coffee Jane." I said sincerely.

"Not a problem. I'll get the others a cup when they wake up. Right now, you and I are the only ones." She said.

"I'm Edward, I don't believe we've officially met. I'm Bella's new boyfriend, and long time friend." I said holding out a hand towards her.

"Jane." She replied shaking my hand. "I work with Alice and Bella, and I went to college with Bella."

"Oh, okay. Are you an occupational therapist too?" I asked.

"Yes I do. I've been working at the hospital for going on 3 years now." She replied.

"Oh cool. You like it there?" I asked.

"Most of the time, yes, but I'm sure you could say the same about your job Edward." She replied with a wry smile.

"Yeah, but then again, if I didn't work at the school, I never would have reconnected with Bella." I said.

"I know what you mean." Jane said smiling broadly at her coffee cup. "I met my fiancee, Alec through the hospital."

"Oh congratulations. What's Alec do?" I asked.

"He's a lawyer. One of the hospitals residents was going to sue our boss, Embry, and Embry hired him as his lawyer. I met Alec when he came to the hospital to meet with Embry regarding being sued." She replied.

"Oh wow. Love at first sight?"

"No nothing like that. I actually bitched him out when he showed up in our therapy department because I thought he was the "ambulance chasing" lawyer for the patient who tried suing Embry. After I finished bitching him out in the therapy department, Embry, who had been standing behind me the entire time, laughed and asked me if I was done ranting at his lawyer." She laughed a little after her story, and I laughed a little as well.

"Well, he must be a good guy if he's still with you even though he's already seen your bitchy side." I replied.

"Yeah, he certainly is." She said.

It was at that moment we heard someone groaning. I rolled over to see who it was, but apparently the person was on the other side of the couch.

"Make the sun go away." Whined Bella. She sounded like she was crying.

Jane stood up at that moment and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Good morning baby." I called softly to her.

"Shut it Edward, it is _not_ a good morning." Bella responded. I still couldn't see her, but I could hear her rolling around on the floor. A moment later her head appeared around the corner of the couch and she squinted at me. "What are you doing over there?"

"I don't know Bella, I could ask you the same. I want to know why the hell I'm naked." I responded laughing a little.

"Same, except I'm still wearing underwear at least. How did these blankets get out here?" She asked.

At that moment, Jane walked back into the living room with a cup of coffee for Bella.

"I pulled out the blankets, one for each of you after you all passed out. For you, coffee." Jane said.

"Oh hi Jane, thank you. When did you get here?" Bella asked after her first sip of coffee.

"Oh, about 1:30 am, and all of you were drunk off your asses. I will tell you everything once Alice and Jasper come alive." Jane said laughing a little.

"Ugh." Bella groaned. She then rolled herself in her blanket and came over to lay next to me on the floor. "Hi handsome."

"Well, hello beautiful. Feeling a little better?" I asked.

"A litte I guess. My head hurts like hell, and I feel like I'm going to be sick." She said resting her head on her arm.

I reached my arm out and wrapped it around her waist. She rolled herself towards me. I was able to pull her so that she was pressed up against me, blankets between us, with my arm wrapped firmly around her waist. I pressed my head to her hair inhaling the smell of her shampoo and conditioner as she nuzzled her face into my chest. It was a sweet moment only dulled by the unnatural pain searing through our heads.

"I...I think..." She started, but then she was up with the blanket and running towards the hallway towards the bathroom.

I pulled myself upright with my blanket wrapped around me, and followed her. I reached the bathroom after I heard her heave. I quietly went in, and gently pulled her hair back so she didn't throw up in her hair. After a few minutes of her heaving, she was finally quiet.

"You okay sweetie?" I asked when she rested her head on the side of the toilet.

"I guess." She mumbled.

I helped her stand up and walked with her back out to the living room. By the time we got back, Alice and Jasper were awake sitting on the couch with cups of coffee in their hands, Jane was on a stool at the bar that separated the kitchen and dining room area looking at a piece of paper there. I walked Bella over to the love seat and sat down next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

"Good morning you two." I said to a beat up looking Alice and Jasper.

"Ugh, there's nothing good about morning" Jasper replied.

"I don't know what you all are complaining about, I feel just fine." Alice announced.

"Not all of us are as lucky as you Alice." Bella replied weakly.

"Very true Bella." Alice responded cheerily.

"Does anyone remember what happened last night?" Jasper asked. "I woke up naked this morning, and Alice was only wearing her underwear."

"Nah, don't remember bud. Me and Bella woke up the same way." I replied.

"Well, let's ask Jane since she's the sober one." Alice said.

We all turned towards where Jane was sitting reading what ever was on the piece of paper in front of her. Once she seemed to feel our gazes land on her, she looked up at us and smirked.

"Before I divulge the details of your very drunken night, are you really sure you want to hear them? There is a reason the guys woke up with no clothes on, and the girls woke up only in their underwear." Jane asked.

"Yeah, I want to know so I don't give myself a migraine trying to figure it out." I said.

Everyone else just hummed in agreement.

"Okay, Alice, I take it you don't remember calling me at around 1 am do you?" Jane asked.

"No, but apparently someone did, glad to know it was me. What did I say?" Alice said.

"Well, you were laughing about every other word, but the gist of it was that you really needed someone sober to come here and spin the spinner for a Twister game because all four of you wanted to play." Jane said giving Alice a pointed look.

"Please tell me we didn't..." I started, my sentence trailing off.

"Didn't do what? Play what you guys were calling drunk/strip Twister? If that's the case, I cannot tell you that you didn't because that would be lying." Jane said.

"WHAT?" Screeched Bella, choking on her coffee.

I was floored. There were no other words to describe how I was feeling. All I could do was drop my head in my free hand, elbow resting on the arm rest of the couch. Bella was hiding her face into my chest, but I could see that it was bright red from blushing. I dared a look at our friends. Jasper was silently choking on his coffee, as a triumphant looking Alice slapped his back.

"Please tell me you're joking?" Jasper asked after a few moments of utter silence.

"No Jasper, I'm not joking. By the time I got here, you all had gone through a bottle and a half of vodka, a half bottle of Captain Morgan, an entire bottle of Crown Royal, and 3 bottles of peppermint schnapps. I'm not surprised none of you remember any of this." She said.

"Ho-ly fuck that's a shit load of alcohol." Jasper breathed out turning a ghostly shade of white.

"Yeah that's putting it mildly." I agreed.

"What happened when you got here?" Bella asked, her face still buried in my chest, still too embarassed to look at any of us.

"Well, Edward was the one to let me in the door, but he nearly fell over in the process. I managed to stop him from falling, but he plopped himself on the floor next to the door once I closed it." Jane said.

"Well fuck, I haven't been that drunk in a long time." I commented.

"The last time I saw you plastered, you threw up in Alice's hair." Bella said looking up at me.

"Ha ha good times!" Alice responded.

"So what happened next Jane?" Bella asked curiously.

"Well, you, Bella, decided to inform me that you were drunk, which I had already figured out by Alice's call, and Alice informed me that you guys needed me to be a spinner for this version of Twister. I asked what the rules were, but none had been set up yet. So each one of us in this room came up with a rule for game play." Jane said holding up the piece of paper that she had been studying.

"Oh no, this does not bode well if we all came up with something while being completely hammered." Jasper said laughing lightly.

"You all came up with some pretty good rules, I must say. Rule one: Girls panties do not come off but guys boxers are fair game by Edward." Jane announced, and everyone looked at me.

"That's not bad. Explains why the girls still have underwear on." Jasper said smiling at me.

"Thanks Edward." Alice said.

"Yeah thanks sweetie." Bella responded, kissing me lightly on the cheek.

"Okay now, rule two: Socks cannot be the first item of clothing removed, but when they are, they must be removed one at a time by Alice." Jane announced again.

"Ooh, good job Al." Bella said smiling at her friend.

"Yeah, that was a good idea" I said.

"My baby is clever." Jasper defended throwing an arm around Alice, and she leaned into him.

"What's next Jane?" Alice asked, trying to get the attention off of her.

"Rule three: if you fall, you must remove a piece of clothing before returning to the game until stripped. I made a side note that stripped has the definition of guys completely naked, girls in nothing but their undies, and that was submitted by Bella." Jane said.

"Damn girl, I didn't know you had it in you to suggest that." Alice said with wide eyes.

"Man Bella, you are not as innocent as you look." Jasper echoed nearly choking on his coffee again.

"Baby, you are amazing." I told her softly kissing her temple.

"Thanks guys." Bella responded, blushing then burying her face in my chest again. God, I loved it when she did that.

"By the way Edward, you really liked that rule, and made sure we all knew that." Jane said laughing. "Rule four: if two people find themselves in the 69 position, both peoplle have to do a shot of alcohol chosen by the spinner by Jasper."

"Ooh kinky!" Bella exclaimed.

No one else really wanted to comment on that one. Alice was looking at him proudly, and I was just plain in shock.

"And finally, rule five, which I came up with was: if someone falls, they have to do a shot before returning to the game unless stripped, and therefore out."

"Wow, good job Jane" Alice approved.

"Are those all the rules?" I asked hoping no one had though of anything else to give me a heart attack.

"Yes, that's all the rules. Do you really want a run down of what happened during the game?" Jane asked.

"Yes!" Alice exclaimed.

We all looked at her, but didn't argue. All of us were kind of curious as to what happened since we couldn't remember a damn thing.

"First Alice, you made everyone stand at a corner of the twister mat to start, and she was the first to go since she wouldn't stop going on about how the game was entirely her idea." Jane started.

We were silently cracking up at Alice since we knew, drunk or not, she'd brag about something like that being her idea.

"Who fell first, and what came off?" Alice asked as if she were going to be taking notes.

"The first to fall was Jasper who promptly took off his shirt, took a shot of Crown, and declared that he was the most stacked of all the guys in the room, so his shirt had to come off. He also stated that the girls could drool all they want over his, and I quote, 'torso of goodness and hotness'" Jane replied trying to hold in her laughter, but so far failing.

Jasper was now bright red in the face, and the girls were doubled over laughing.

"O-kay" was all I could say.

"Hey, I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing." Jasper defended.

"Uh huh." I joked back rolling my eyes like Bella would.

"The next person down was Alice." Jane announced. "She removed her shirt as well, did a shot of Captain, and announced that she had the biggest boobs in the room and told everyone else to, and again I quote, 'suck it'"

We all laughed at a very wide eyed Alice.

"Edward was the next down. He removed his jeans first, did a shot of Crown, and decided to explain that he didn't want to conform to everyone else by taking off his shirt, therefore making him an outlaw." Jane said. "He then tried starting a make out session with Bella."

It was my turn to have everyone laugh at me, but hey, I wasn't the only one acting stupid last night.

"Jasper fell again, and removed his jeans and announced he was free, then Bella fell over from laughing at him, so she took off her jeans saying that she wanted to match her 'sexy Edward'. At one point, and I'm not sure how we got there, but Alice and Bella ended up making out on the twister mat with the guys cheering on, then Edward decided Alice could not make out with his girlfriend, so he picked Alice up, and proceeded to make out with Bella, while still holding Alice in mid air. Jasper decided he apparently felt left out, and started making out with Alice, and it very nearly turned into one big orgy." Jane said.

Everyone was silent for a good few minutes after Jane finished telling us about our night after she got there. I guess it was after the almost orgy that we all passed out where we woke up this morning, but not before Bella went outside in just her undies to smoke.

I internally cringed at how insane things had gotten last night. I hated that the first time I saw Bella without clothes was because we'd been drinking, and I couldn't remember it at all. I wanted to see her undressed, naked even, and I wanted to remember it dammit. I am a man after all.

I glanced down at Bella out of the corner of my eye to see her reaction to everything. I could tell she was beyond embarrassed, and had her mind working over time. Probably trying to see if she could remember any of this, or thinking of the many possible ways she wanted to kill Alice, though I knew she wouldn't. After several minutes of awkward silence, Jane cleared her throat and spoke again.

"I think I'm going to head out now, I have some things to do today with Alec. Hope those of you who are hungover feel better, it was definitely an interesting night to say the least. Bella, Alice, I love you, and I'll see you girls at work."

Alice and Bella both got up, blankets wrapped firmly around themselves, and walked over to Jane and gave her a hug before she left. After the door shut though, it was so silent a pin dropped in the kitchen could probably be heard throughout the entire condo.

"I'm going to go get dressed, I will be right back." Bella said, heading for her bedroom.

"I'm sorry guys, I did not mean for things to get out of hand last night." Alice said quietly as she grabbed her clothing from the floor. I hadn't noticed that Jane seemed to have neatly folded each of our clothes that were removed, and put them in a nice pile for each of us. "I'm going to go put my clothes on in the guest bedroom."

It was just Jasper and I left in the living room. We were both speechless to put it mildly. After a minute I looked up at Jasper, and he did the same.

"Dude, last night was fucked up." Jasper said quietly.

"Yeah, I don't know whether I'm glad I don't remember anything or not." I agreed.

"Same, I love Alice, and alcohol, and being with friends, but that much alcohol with that many lines being crossed. Dude. Though I do wish I could remember seeing Bella and Alice making out, that must've been hot!"

"Oh yeah, but you do realize it won't happen again. The girls won't do it sober, and I highly doubt we should drink that much alcohol with each other again, because who knows, next time could turn into a foursome, which no thank you." I said.

"I know, but what if we just got the girls that drunk. Maybe they'd give a repeat performance. We'd be sober, so we'd remember it." Jasper said.

"Maybe, we'll see what the future holds. I'm just glad last night is over and we all didn't end up having a foursome." I replied with a soft laugh.

At that moment, Bella emerged from her room looking a lot better than she did when she first woke up. She was wearing blue jeans and a gray long sleeved t-shirt. Her wavy brown hair had been brushed, and hung softly around her shoulders and cascaded in layers down her back. She came over to pick up her coffee cup, and gave me a lingering kiss as she headed to the kitchen for more coffee.

"I guess it's my turn to get dressed." I said standing with my blanked wrapped firmly around me.

I grabbed my boxers and jeans from last night, and grabbed a t-shirt from the clean clothes hamper that was still in the closet where Bella had stuffed it after the last time she did laundry. I then made my way into her bedroom, and shut the door for privacy. I looked around her room, then dropped the blanket I had wrapped around me all morning long. It didn't take long to get dressed, and when I was done I folded up the blanket nicely, and laid it at the end of Bella's bed. I then opened the door and went out in the living room. Alice had finished getting dressed, and was sitting talking with Bella, and Jasper was getting dressed I assumed, since he was no where to be seen.

After Jasper was dressed and back in the living room, the girls excused themselves to the kitchen to make a brunch, and Jasper and I turned on a movie. We could hear the girls laughing in the kitchen, and the conversation between Jasper and I was comfortable. It seems we were all over the initial shock and embarrassment over last night.

**BPOV**

Alice and I had decided to cook all of us brunch to share before Alice and Jasper had to head home. We decided to start with putting a tomato-bacon quiche and a cinnamon french toast bake into the oven. Then we started frying more bacon for the side, and cooked up some scrambled eggs. We also put together strawberry cream cheese pastries and mixed the batter for blueberry-oat pancakes. While Alice and I worked, we talked about a bunch of different things, including last night.

"So, what do you think?" Alice asked while I was helping with putting together the strawberry cream cheese pastries.

"So what do I think about what?" I asked.

"About last night, what all happened after Jane got here." Alice prodded.

"Alice, I'm honestly trying not to think about it. I'm not comfortable being 99.9% naked in front of people, and I was, even though only 1 person out of all of us remembers." I replied.

"Yeah, I know, but it was only Jane. You know she isn't interested, and doesn't give a shit." Alice said. "I think the guys would like a repeat performance of you and I making out though."

"Yeah, that's not happening while I'm sober. Sorry Alice." I laughed.

"Yeah, I agree Bella." Alice said laughing.

I pulled the quiche out of the oven and set it on a cooling rack, along with the cinnamon french toast bake, and replaced them with the strawberry cream cheese pastries. I closed the oven door with my hip, and set the timer so they didn't burn. While I was doing this, Alice had started frying up the pancakes.

"I wish I could remember what Edward looked like naked." I said quietly.

My comment took Alice off guard as she doubled over laughing in front of the cook top, banging her thigh with the handle of the flipper. "Where the hell did that come from Bells?" She choked out.

"Well, Edward and I just started dating, but we've liked each other for a lot longer. I'm not entirely ready to go all the way yet, I don't think, but I wouldn't mind seeing my boyfriend with no clothes." I explained.

Alice looked at me with large hazel eyes. "Yeah, I understand. Why do you think you're not ready for sex with Edward?"

"I don't know, I guess part of it is me being insecure about my body, especially the surgery scar from my miscarriage, another part is the amount of time we've been apart, with absolutely no communication. It's like having to learn somone all over again." I said.

"Honestly, with having the contact with both of you over the years, you two haven't changed. Yeah, there's probably things about your pasts you're going to want to confide to each other, but outside of that, you two are totally still compatible." Alice said scraping more pancakes off the griddle on the cook top. "And about that scar, relax. It's not really all that visible, and I know for a fact that Edward is not going to mind. It makes you you."

" I understand, but I don't like it. It's a reminder of my awful past." I replied, tears forming in my eyes, but not falling. "I miss my son or daughter. I loved it very much, so did Mike."

"I know sweetie, and I loved it too, but fate had other plans I guess."

"I hate fate." I said heatedly banging my hand flat on the counter next to me. "What should we put out for drinks?"

"Can't go wrong with setting out a carton of milk, and orange juice, but is there anything else that you'd like to go with all of this?" Alice asked.

"Since we have a variety of foods outside of the normal for this brunch, maybe we can make up some peach-berry smoothies." I suggested.

"That sounds freaking delicious!" Alice exclaimed. "Please do that."

"All righty" I said going to the refrigerator to get the ingredients out.

It took us about 20 more minutes and everything was done. We carried out each dish of brunch goodness and the drinks and called the guys to the table. It didn't escape my eyes that the guys were practically drooling over my table looking at the food we made. Edward kissed me on the cheek after I sat down at my seat next to him. Alice sat at the other side of the table from me next to Jasper.

For the first few minutes, the table was silent, each of us devouring and enjoying our food. After that, we all talked about various things, and it was homey and comfortable. There were absolutely no leftovers by the time we were all done, and the boys stepped up and cleared the table of all the dishes so Alice and I could continue the conversation we were having. I stood up to start washing the dishes, but Edward gently eased me back into my seat and kissed the top of my head. Within a couple of minutes, water was running in the kitchen, and the boys were talking and laughing loudly. I went in to refill my coffee cup to find them washing the brunch dishes.

_Holy hell, I think I've died and gone to heaven!_

I kissed Edward on the cheek, and mussed up Jasper's hair and thanked them both for cleaning up, then took my coffee cup back to the dining room.

"Alice, you won't believe what is going on in my kitchen!" I said after sitting down.

"What are the boys up to?" Alice asked giving me a worried look.

"They are washing dishes." I replied.

Alice jumped up out of her seat and I got up to follow her. She walked right over to Jasper, looked over his shoulder, then slapped her hand onto his forehead.

"Jasper Whitlock, are you sick?" Alice asked.

"No Al, I'm not sick." Jasper replied giving her an amused look.

"Then why the hell are you doing dishes?" Alice asked. "You never do dishes at home!"

"Hey, I'm being nice because we're at Bella's, and she was kind enough to feed us." Jasper said. "This is my way of saying 'thank you'"

"Huh, who knew." Alice said incredulously. "We're moving in Bells."

"No way, I'm not living with you two." I laughed.

"But you make Jasper be extraordinarily nice, and helpful!" Alice said.

"Yeah, well, that's my talent." I replied. "Oh, and Jasper, you're welcome for brunch. I enjoy cooking for you guys."

The smile I got from both boys reminded me of my nephews on Christmas day, incredibly happy and barely contained excitement. A half hour later, the dishes were done and put away, Jasper and Alice had gone home, and Edward and I crashed on the bed in my room, watching TV and napping.

**A/n: Hello everyone, thanks for being patient for this chapter. It took me a while to organize, and figure out how I wanted to present the content. The inspiration for this chapter came from the song "That's Not My Name by the Ting Tings, and my friends. Side note, all the brunch foods are recipes I have, if you'd like any, please let me know. Thanks for reading!**


	31. These Times

**A/n: Hello all, I'm back! This is going to be a more emotional chapter than the others. I feel like I need to speed up some things.**

**Chapter 31**

**BPOV**

_December 29-1 week after big party_

It had been a couple of weeks since our party. My nephews had arrived a couple of days ago, Edward was moved out of the guest room and into mine, and our relationship was moving forward. While everything was going great, I couldn't shake a feeling of dread, like something bad was going to happen soon. It probably had something to do with the car that kept following me and Edward everywhere we went.

Edward had called the police a few times to report it, but the police weren't doing anything about it unfortunately. Something about if it's him, he's abiding by the limitations set by the restraining order. All I heard of the conversation when it happened was Edward yelling a string of profanities and a 'thank you for nothing'.

Today, Edward drove me to the hospital to work, and it was nearing lunch time. I was definitely hungry, and Edward had promised me that he and the boys would be bringing me lunch. I enjoy any time I get with my nephews since they live in Washington still. I was typing some things into my computer when the phone on my desk rang.

"Hello, occupational therapy department, Bella Swan speaking, how may I help you?" I answered.

"Bella, so wonderful to speak to you again." The voice that haunted me for years and worse the past few months sounded through the phone. Laurent.

"Why are you calling? You have a restraining order against you. I really don't want to call the cops and tell them you called and get you into trouble again." I said banging my head lightly on the heel of my hand.

"You know why I'm calling. You know what I want. I suggest you bring my grandchild to meet me or you will pay." Laurent responded, ice heavy in his voice.

"Why don't you believe me? Or better yet, if I was lying, why the hell do you think I'd subject my son or daughter to meeting you?" I asked bitterly.

"Oh Bella, that was not something a good daughter would say to her dad, especially when she knows she is lying and won't admit to it. It's bad enough you have your baby daddy in on it too." He snarled.

"Are you even listening to yourself? Do you know how crazy you sound?" I laughed out. "First off, I'm not your daughter, which you've made very clear numerous times while I was growing up, and I have plenty of people who will back that one up. Second, I know I'm not lying, I have the physical scar and no baby to prove it, and thirdly, Mike was the father of the child I miscarried, not Edward, so he has nothing to lose by lying."

"See that's all one big lie. You will always be my daughter biologically, which make any of your children my grandchildren. I have rights when it comes to you and any children you have. I know you have 2 boys with you and Edward right now. If one of them isn't yours whose are they then? Huh? And why would I believe Mike would be the father since you guys broke up when you were 18?"

"Biology doesn't count along with being a dad. It takes more than genetics to make you one, and the boys Edward and I are babysitting, are my brother Emmett's and his wife Rosalie's. They live in Port Angeles Washington, but went on a cruise this week. Since I don't get to spend time with the boys, they left them with me. As for your last question, I refuse to dignify that with an answer because your ignorance is just overwhelming."

"I will not be mocked Bella, and Emmett is not your brother. He is Charlie's son, not mine." Laurent said with a warning tone to his voice.

"HA! Charlie's more my dad than you'll ever be." I growled back.

"You will pay for that. You will regret this entire conversation, I will make sure of it." Irina yelled.

"Oh yes, I should have known you'd be on the line too. How forgetful I am for thinking my biological father could contact me without his fierce protector." I laughed out.

"You little bitch, how dare you disrespect us!" Irina screeched.

"I'm an adult, and you Irina, are nothing to me. I've said all I have to say, whether you can accept the truth or not is completely up to you, but if you can't, well you can take it to court, but know this, you will walk away looking stupid, I will make sure of that, Edward will make sure of that, and so will Mike." I said, and then released my side of the call.

Once I hung up, I sunk back in my chair and breathed a sigh of relief. I hated dealing with them, but at least I had it on digital audio, ready to archive in case they did decide to take me to court. Once I had the file saved, there was a knock on the office door.

"Hey sorry to bother you Bella, but you have visitors." Embry said, smiling.

"Hey thanks for letting me know Embry. Do you think you could do me a favor?" I asked.

"Yeah sure, anything. What's up?" Embry asked.

I scribbled a note on one of my scrap papers and folded it. "Could you make sure this gets to Mike Newton on unit B2?"

"Not a problem, I was just going up that way to retrieve Ms. Denali." He responded shoving the note into his pants pocket. "Have a good lunch Bella."

"Thanks so much, and I will. See you when I get back."

With that I grabbed my purse and headed for the lobby. When I got there, I saw Edward with the boys who were acting like they were hyped up on caffiene. Edward looked absolutely beat.

"Hey sweetie" I said giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, ready for lunch?" He asked giving me a bright smile.

"Yes, definitely. What's for lunch?" I asked.

"Aunt Bella! We want to go to Red Robin for lunch! Mr. Edward said we could but that it was up to you if you wanted to go there." Zach said attaching himself to my waist, followed by his brother.

"Sounds good to me guys, let's go!" I said smiling at the boys in my life.

I took Edwards hand, while Zach and Josh led us out of the hospital. While their excited chatter went on ahead of us, I figured I'd warn Edward of what happened just before they showed.

"He called me Edward." I whispered.

"Who called you?" He responded.

"Laurent and Irina"

"What? When?"

"Just minutes before you and the boys showed up. He called on my work phone." I said. "I have the conversation recorded to audio file on my computer, and I now have to talk to Mike."

"We should talk about this more later. We're too close to the car, and the boys do not need to hear this."

"You're right Edward."

With that, all four of us piled into Edward's volvo, and within a couple of minutes we were at Red Robin ordering our lunch. Edward and I acted normal throughout lunch, and my nephews recounted their morning for me. All in all, they were having fun, and they loved Edward to death. He'd promised them they could go to the aquarium after lunch if they ate their lunch, and by the time we had to head back to the hospital, there was absolutely nothing left on their plates.

"Goodness you two, are you related to goats or something?" I joked as we walked back to the car.

"Nope. We're growing boys you know, gotta eat lots to get bigger like daddy." Replied Zach.

I laughed at that because just by looking at Emmett, you could tell he likes food. "Yeah, it's going to be a while before you're the same size as daddy." I said smiling.

"I know." Zach said.

With that said, the ride back to the hospital was silent. Edward held my hand the whole way, but I could tell something was on his mind by the look in his eye, and the tension in his forehead. I couldn't say anything in front of Zach or Josh because I knew it would probably be about my father. When we got back, we all of us walked all the way to the therapy department so I could show my nephews where I work.

They loved the time they spent playing with some of the therapy "toys" and being tested as to how strong they are. Jane had to run into the office for a couple of things she needed out on the floor, and she of course treated the boys to candy she had hidden in her desk for our younger patients which made Edward and I laugh.

Unfortunately, like all good things, our time together ended, it was time for me to get back to work.

"I'll miss you babe." Edward said kissing me lightly on the mouth.

"I'll miss you too. Going to pick me up handsome?" I asked, flirting slightly.

"Of course I will, and dinner's on me too. Jasper had to go to some conference for a couple of days, so I invited her for dinner too."

"All right, sounds good to me." I responded giving him one last kiss and hug. "Boys, remember, be good for Mr. Edward, and have a great afternoon at the aquarium."

"We will" they responded in unison.

I laughed at that, and with one last look, they left, leaving me alone in the office. I sat at my desk noticing a folded paper with my name written on it sitting there. I checked my watch, and opened the note.

_Dear Bella,_

_I'm sorry to hear you're going through a rough time with your biological father. I'm happy and willing to help you with anything you need. Have me paged or something when you get back from lunch, and we can talk, work out a plan or something. Hope you had a good lunch._

_Sincerely, Mike_

I re-read the note a couple of times just to make sure I wasn't dreaming it, then picked up my phone and called unit B2.

"Unit B2 this is Tanya speaking, how can I help you?" Tanya answered.

"Hey Tanya, it's Bella from therapy. Could you please send Mike down whenever he has a free moment?" I asked.

"Hey Bella, absolutely. He's got a fifteen starting in about 5 minutes, I can send him down then if you're available." She responded.

"Yes, I'm free in 5. Thanks for sending him down."

"Not a problem Bella, anytime. Bye"

"Bye" I said and hung up my phone. I had 5 minutes to explain the messy situation I find myself in with entirely more detail than I cared to normally. 5 minutes to mentally prepare myself to explain the nightmare that is my biological father and his demon wife.

The 5 minutes seemed to fly fast, and before I knew it, there was a knock at the door that startled me profusely.

"Hey Bells, Tanya sent me down here for my 15. What's up?" Mike said propping his shoulder against the door frame.

"Hey Mike, you're going to want to sit down for this." I said nervously.

I think he sensed my nervousness because he sat quickly in the chair opposite me, scooting close enough that he could put his hand on my bouncing knee. "What's got you so nervous?"

"I need to tell you exactly what's going on between me and Laurent before I play you the audio recording of the call I got from him this morning." I started.

"Okay, let's start at the beginning Bells. When did he first get in contact with you?" Mike asked.

"1 week into the school year. They showed up at Washington Irving during the middle of a school day." I said quietly looking downwards in the general direction of the floor.

"What did they want?" He asked.

"They wanted to talk to me. My other grandmother told him I was pregnant, but she had no idea about the miscarriage." I said. I waited for a reaction, but the only thing I heard was a soft intake of his breath.

"What did you say to that?" Asked Mike sadly.

"I told him honestly about the miscarriage, and apologized, but he didn't and still does not believe me. I had another school teacher pretend to be my boyfriend at the time, although he is my boyfriend now which is a little ironic, but that's not important. He believes that I had a baby that I'm keeping from him that he believes Edward, my boyfriend now, is the father of." I said in one breath.

"Holy hell." Mike said.

"Yeah, he has a restraining order on him, but I believe he's been following me around, today is the first time since that he's called me. I've explained the situation over and over again, and yet he refuses to believe me. In anger I blurted that if he cannot accept the truth, then I would see him in court."

"Wow, you did tell him I was the father right?" Mike asked. I looked into his eyes, and there was sadness, desperation, anger, and hurt. How dare my father do this to us.

"I did. He doesn't believe me because the last time I talked to him was when I was 19, just after you and I broke up the first time." I said, willing him to believe me. "I have that on the recording."

"I believe you Bella. I can't believe he's doing this!" Mike exclaimed. His eyes started to tear up. "There's not a day that doesn't go by that I don't think about our son or daughter."

"I know." I responded, tears of my own forming in my eyes. "I know, because it's the same for me too. Unfortunately I'm reminded every day by the scar."

"May I see it?" Mike asked suddenly.

"Of course, it's as much a part of you as it is me." I choked out, lifting a portion of my blouse for him to see the scar across my abdomen.

His finger lightly traced it before we both broke down into hysterics. Before I knew it, his head was buried on my knees, my forehead resting against the back of his head, both of us trying to find comfort for what we lost. A part of both of us, missing, making neither one of us whole again. It seemed like hours we stayed in that position, grieving for our child when we heard Mike being paged.

We both sat up quickly, and wiped the tears from our faces. "I'm sorry for making you late back to work." I said.

"No, don't be, I'm glad you told me. I will do whatever it takes to get this settled, even if it means me physically beating the shit out of Laurent and Irina both." Mike said through his teeth. I had no doubts about that, because I knew even if we didn't love each other that way anymore, he still loved his child.

"I know Mike. Thanks for talking to me." I said.

"Anytime Bella, I meant what I said when I told you I still wanted to be friends with you." Mike said with a small smile.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me. Now get back to work before you get in trouble." I said with a small laugh.

"Yes ma'am" He said and left.

After he left, I finished up the last of my work for the day, and was able to get out earlier than originally planned. While I got ready to go, I sent a quick text to Edward.

_Hey hon, what are you guys up to?_ _ 3 Bella_

Seconds later, my phone buzzed with a new text message.

_Not much, we're at the aquarium still. They are apparently fascinated by sharks since we've been at the shark tank for the past 5 minutes lol. ~Edward_

A plan formulated in my brain, and looked at Jane.

"Hey Jane, you done for the day too?" I asked.

"Yeah why?" Jane asked.

"I was wondering if you could drive me to the aquarium. Edward has the boys there, and he drove me to work today. I got done early so I want to surprise them." I said.

"That's not a problem, it's on my way to Alec's apartment. I think it's cool you're going to surprise them." Jane said grabbing her purse from her desk drawer.

"Great thanks." I said doing the same.

"So what are your plans since you're off for the rest of Christmas break?" asked Jane as we walked towards the employee parking lot.

"I don't know, I've got to figure out how to keep Zach and Josh entertained, and I want some alone time with Edward too, but I don't know how busy we're going to be with court stuff once I turn the audio file from today into the police." I replied.

"I understand. Are you going to play the audio recording for Edward?" Jane asked.

"Yeah, he knows he called, but not everything yet since the boys were with us. I figure we can dig into things once they go to bed tonight. Alice is going to want to know too, and she's going to be over for dinner." I said.

"Yeah, Alice is definitely going to want to know. She cares about you guys." Jane said. "So do Alec and I."

"Thanks Jane. Do you and Alec want to come over for desert?" I asked. I'm sure the boys will be in bed by then, and all us adults can talk.

"Sure. Should we have Mike come too? It was his child, and because that's what the issue is centered around, he should be involved." Jane said.

"I've talked to Mike already today. He knows everything. He told me anything he can do, he'll do it. We both broke down in the tears we couldn't shed at the time it happened." I replied.

"That's good for you guys I think." Jane said as we walked up to her car.

"Me too. If something major happens, then I'll contact Mike, but for now, I just want to leave it like it is now. I'm trying to cause him as little pain as possible." I explained.

"I can appreciate that Bella, just be careful." She said.

"I will, thanks Jane." I said.

The ride to the aquarium was full of other random stuff, Jane trying to keep my mind off the heavy stuff. I texted Edward a couple of times on the way to make sure they stayed at the aquarium, and I'd be able to find them when I got there.

"Well this is my stop." I said when Jane pulled up to the curb in front of the massive building downtown. "Thanks for the ride."

"Not a problem, anytime. Give us a call when you're ready for us to come over." She said giving me an awkward hug over the center console.

"Will do. See you later." I said returning her hug, then getting out of her car.

I waved as she pulled away, and sent Edward another text while I paid my admission.

_So what are you and the boys looking at now? 3 Bella_

_We're at the penguin area now. Zach's comparing real ones to the online social site he plays on. ~Edward_

I laughed when I received the last message and followed the signs to the penguin exhibition.

_Sounds like a 7 year old lol. 3 Bella_

_Yeah, I suppose, haven't spent a ton of time with kids that age. Shouldn't you be working? ~Edward_

I received his last text as I rounded the corner where they were. Instead of answering, I snuck up on Edward and the boys while Zach prattled on about the real penguins versus his club penguin penguins. As I neared him, I poked Edward in his sides causing him to jump with a yelp in shock. The surprise he was feeling evident in his eyes.

"What the..." He started.

"Hi honey!" I said. "Surprise."

"What on earth are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be working?" Edward asked hugging me tightly.

"I got finished with all my work earlier than I thought I would. Jane got done early too, and she gave me a ride here so I didn't have to sit at work and be bored out of my mind until you came to get me." I explained hugging him back.

"Well I'm glad you got done early and surprised us." Edward said kissing my forehead. "Hey boys, did you see who came to see us?"

"Aunt Bella! Mr. Edward said you had to work." Zach said confused.

"I did Zach, but I got done early and came here to surprise you." I replied. "Surprise!"

Both boys attacked my waist with hugs, and Edward and I just laughed lightly at them.

It took a few minutes for the boys to get over their surprise, but when they did, we continued through the rest of the aquarium looking at the various exhibitions. Josh insisted we go back to the sharks so they could show me what I missed. Their excitement was definitely contagious, and had me and Edward acting like kids too. It was fun, and it had me wondering about the future. I started wondering about me and Edward having kids of our own. I glanced at him in my peripheral vision. I wondered if he had the same thoughts as I did, probably not. He's a guy, I'm a girl. I wrote it off, and just had fun for the rest of the time we were at the aquarium downtown.

**EPOV**

The aquarium was fun, especially when Bella surprised us by showing up after getting done with work early. It was nice to spend this time with her, to see her so happy and carefree for a while, even knowing that there were some difficult things coming up for her. The smile on her face was so genuine, and it made me happy. It made me wonder about our future. Would she want to stay with me, marry me, have a family with me. Of course it was too soon to be thinking about that, but something about the tenor of my thoughts felt right in a way. I could almost picture our wedding, our kids, and fun times like this, just being together, without a care in the world.

Too soon our afternoon came to a close, and it was time for us to get home for dinner. I'd made a beef stew in the slow cooker at the condo before we left so dinner would be ready when we all got back. I held Bella's hand all the way back to the condo.

"So how was the rest of your day at work?" I asked after the boys fell asleep in the backseat.

"It was alright. I filled Mike in." She replied.

"Oh, how did he take it?" I asked. I understood why she needed to tell him. It was his child after all, and if it were me, I'd want to know.

"He's mad, and perfectly willing to do whatever he has to in order to clear everything up." She said. "Both of us finally shed the tears we weren't able to at the time that it happened."

"I'm sorry Bella, I really am." I said.

"I know Edward, and I do love you for that, it's just hard for us. He wants to be a friend, and even though we don't love each other like we did anymore, I know he loved him or her." She said looking down at her lap.

"Perfectly understandable. From what you told me before we got together, you guys didn't break up on bad terms, and you have something that will always hold you two together." I said glancing over at her.

"Thank you so much for understanding Edward. I gave him a copy of the recording in case he wanted any confirmation as to what I told him." She said giving me a small smile.

"Good, did you make more than one copy?" I asked.

"Yes, I have it with me. Once the boys are in bed for the night, you, me, Alice, Jane, and Alec are going to have desert and we're going to listen to it, and then figure out where to go from here." She said.

"All right honey, sounds good to me." I replied squeezing her hand lightly. I did think it was a good idea because I knew how much she meant to everyone.

We fell into a comfortable silence after that, and by the time we pulled into the parking area at the condo, she'd dozed off. I woke her up gently, and we got the boys, and went up to the condo. Of course I saw the blue SUV that had been following us since the day after the restraining order came down. This time it gave me chills and a feeling of dread came over me. I didn't like it one bit, especially now the fucker had gotten the nerve to call her at work.

I glared in its direction and went in the building. We went up in the elevator, and into the condo. Just as we got there, the phone started ringing. I sent the boys to wash up for dinner, and Bella answered the phone. I walked into the kitchen to start getting things ready to eat while I listened to Bella talk to whomever was on the phone.

"Yes Alice, I know you were invited to dinner, we just walked in for heaven's sake." She said rolling her eyes.

I just laughed imagining Alice's colorful comeback to that.

"Well geez miss impatient, can I get my shoes off now that you know we're home?" She asked laughing.

I laughed again, I loved Alice as if she were my own sister, but my word was she impatient. After a couple of minutes, Bella hung up the phone and lightly thumped her head against the counter.

"I love Alice, but she can be a pain sometimes." Bella said without picking up her head.

"I know sweetie, I agree." I replied smothing her hair out gently with my hand. "Why don't you go out to the balcony while I get dinner ready to be served?"

"Okay, sounds good to me." She said getting up. Less than a minute later, the balcony door was opened then closed.

I worked quickly, and Alice showed up while I was dishing out dinner for everyone. I could hear the boys playing in their bedroom, and Bella finally came back inside just as I finished setting the table.

"Dinner's ready and on the table." I yelled so the boys would be able to hear me.

Subsequently I heard the sound of the boys' footsteps running towards the dining room, Alice's little squeal of excitement, and the groans of Bella and Jasper at the sound. I chuckled quietly while everyone made their way to the table.

"Edward, it smells wonderful." Alice said taking in a deep breath through her nose

"Why, thank you Alice, it's nice to have a girlfriend who owns a crock pot." I replied winking at Bella.

I studied Bella's face for a moment, and saw the pain, and stress she was trying to hide. She was doing good at it, at least as far as the boys could tell. For a while, no one spoke, choosing to just enjoy their food.

"Hey Bella, maybe you should invite MIke for desert considering what we have to discuss." Jasper suggested.

"I don't know, what do you think Edward?" She asked without looking at me.

"I think it's a good idea, seeing as it involves him and his child." I replied. I knew I wouldn't want to be left out if it were me.

"I'll be right back then." Bella replied quietly.

I could hear the pain and stress in her voice. I could tell she had a millon things on her mind, and some of those thoughts quite painful for her. I wished in that moment there was more I could do for her.

The next few minutes were spent in quiet conversations, sometimes with input from Bella's nephew's. Bella came back to the table, and the little conversations continued.

"So Bell, when will Mike, Jane, and Alec be here?" Asked Alice.

"I have to call them after dinner is done. They won't come before then." She replied.

"Ok. So boys, I heard you went to the aquarium today." Alice said, changing the subject and the mood entirely. "Did you have fun?"

"Yes!" They both exclaimed at the same time. At that point, they launched into the story of their day, recounting everything for Alice and Jasper. It was such a relief from everything else going on. There were finally laughs, smiles, and a light-heartedness in the room. It lasted until dinner was over, and the dishes were done. It was time for desert.

"Boys, you can eat your desert in your room. The adults need to have an adult conversation, so you can go play and have your desert." Bella said, squatting to their level.

"YAY!" They yelled with excitement. I watched Bella serve up 4 small peppermint-chocolate brownies onto a plate.

"There's 2 small brownies for each of you so I don't want to hear any fighting over who has more brownies, you understand?" She asked holding the plate so they could see their desert.

"Yes auntie Bella." They replied.

She walked with them to their room, and pulled the door almost all the way shut when she walked out.

"You okay honey?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll be okay once this is all over." She replied.

I rubbed her back lightly while she called Jane, and Mike, letting them know that we were ready for desert. We then sat around just chatting waiting for them to get here, and within a half an hour, we all were settled around the living room with our brownies and coffee. Alice cuddled up to Jasper on the loveseat, I sat in a chair with Bella on the floor, resting her back against my legs, Jane, Alec, and Mike all sat tensely on the couch. The silence was so loud, no one even attempted to break it. I relished having Bella close to me, but afraid of what I was going to hear on the recording of the conversation from earlier today. As the silence and the tension wore on, we all started looking at each other, wondering exactly how the subject should be broached, and by who.

Our answer came by a knock on the door. Bella pushed herself up from the floor mumbling something about getting it. We all sat and continued to stare at each other until Bella's gasp broke the silence.


	32. It's Not Me It's You

**A/n: Hello there readers old and new; I'm excited to share this story with you! I'll be hitting the climax of my story in this chapter and will be winding down from here. I'm happy with the wonderful feedback I've gotten for this as it was my maiden project for Fanfic. For my beloved readers that don't know, I've started a second Fanfiction: Dancing Away With My Heart. I hope you'll take a moment to check that out as well and that you enjoy it. Enough with my ranting...on with the chapter.**

**And just because I have to...I do not own Twilight or the characters, Stephanie Meyers does, but I do own all the books and all the movies so far.**

**BPOV**

_Let's get the story straight you were a poison._

Nothing could've prepared me for who was standing on the other side of my door waiting for me to answer. Of all people it had to be them. The only reaction my body could manage was a gasp of surprise. I was frozen in my spot. I prayed that someone, anyone, would have heard this and would come and help me.

_You flooded through my veins you left me broken_

In the next minute, Edward was by my side, placing his hand over mine on the door.

"Can't we come in and talk?" Laurent sneered.

I knew I couldn't answer and looked over my shoulder at Edward to do the talking for me.

"You know you're not supposed to be here." Edward said coldly. "I could call the cops and have you arrested."

"Boy, don't threaten us! I'm her biological father and I have rights!" Laurent exclaimed pointing a stiff finger towards Edward.

"Actually, you don't have rights when it comes to me." I responded forcefully, finding my voice.

"Bella, maybe we should have this out inside instead of out here in the hallway." Edward quietly and calmly said in my ear.

"Okay, you're right." I said quietly back. We then stepped aside gesturing Laurent and Irina in.

_You tried to make me think that the blame was all on me_

Our guests gasped in surprise. Jasper was rubbing an angry Alice's back, Alec had taken Jane's hand as she glared at Laurent and Irina, and Mike's blue eyes were cold and hard, his body tense, like a snake ready to strike at any moment.

"Well, well, well, I see you have your gang all assembled." Irina sneered coldly.

"Why the hell are you here anyway?" Mike asked, his voice managing to sound colder than Irina's had.

"Don't you take that tone with me you arrogant jerk!" She hissed straightening her back straighter, if that was even possible with as stiff as it had been before.

"This matter, involves us, Bella, and the father of my grandchild who I assume is in the next room." Laurent said so matter-of-factly.

_With the pain you put me through now I know that it's not me it's you_

"Excuse me?" Mike and Alice both said at the same time.

"Um, this does involve Mike, and while you are in my home, you will treat my guests with the upmost respect, which includes my nephews who are visiting while their parents are away." I said.

"Then the rest of them shouldn't be here. I demand that they leave. NOW!" Irina said. I'm sure she expected us to just jump and do what she had commanded, but no one did.

Jasper and Alec, both had made fists of the hand that wasn't touching Alice and Jane respectively.

"No, they are perfectly welcome to stay. I have no secrets from them." I replied looking over the group of my friends, which included my Edward.

"Whatever." Laurent said rolling his eyes.

"Whose children are those if they aren't yours?" Laurent asked probably expecting to catch me lying.

"My brother Emmett, and his wife Rosalie's." I responded. "If you don't believe me, they pick them up tomorrow afternoon to go back to Seattle."

"Emmett isn't your brother though!" Laurent exclaimed. "You need to get that through your damn head."

_Always has been you; all the lies and stupid things you say and do it's you_

"Yes he is for all intents and purposes! Honestly he's more like family than you are." I replied crossing my arms over my chest.

Next thing I knew, Irina was standing in front of me, my head was facing the wall to the side of her, and my cheek was exploding with pain. I'm sure there was quite the red mark on my face. In another second, Edward had his arm around me, and Jasper was barely successful at restraining an livid Alice.

"YOU BITCH!" Alice was yelling.

"It's what this piece of shit deserves for saying that to her father." Irina said.

"Get over yourself" Jane commented snidely from the couch earning a high five from Mike.

"What fierce protectors you have Isabella." Laurent commented. "Do you think they'll still be your friends when they learned that you've been lying?"

At this, Mike exploded. I was honestly surprised he hadn't before now. "WHAT THE FUCK?" He yelled. "HOW THE HELL CAN YOU SPEAK TO HER THAT WAY WHEN HER AND I ARE STILL GRIEVING THE LOSS OF OUR CHILD?"

Everyone had turned to look at him during his outburst. Mike was standing barely an inch in front of Laurent, tears in his eyes.

_It's not me it's you; all the lies and pain you put me through; I know that it's not me it's you_

"I know you don't believe Bella, you don't want to believe her, but believe me since I have no damn reason to lie to you. It was my son or daughter she miscarried." Mike said in a more normal tone of voice.

I looked to Edward to see if he'd be okay to hear everything, and for strength to get through this. I saw the strength I need, and I could tell Edward was okay with everything. He was truly more than I deserved.

_Here we go again; same fight we're always in; I don't care so why pretend? Wake me when your lecture ends_

Mike looked at me and I nodded slightly. He needed to tell this, he needed to let it all out. I had told Edward, it was clear Mike hadn't told anyone.

"Bella and I had gotten back together when we were in college at the University of Washington. This time, we were able to make a relationship work, and I proposed to her a week before our graduation. The day she said 'yes' was the greatest day. We were so happy. We graduated and planned our wedding for the 1 year anniversary of our college graduation. Six months after graduation, we found out she was pregnant. I cannot tell you how happy we both were. Sure we hadn't planned on kids so soon, but hell, we wouldn't have changed the timing for anything. We talked about what to do about the wedding, and agreed to postpone the wedding until our baby was 6 months old so that she could have champagne for our toast. When she was about 4 months along, I came home from work to find her laying on our bed in the fetal position, crying because she was in so much pain." Mike stopped there to take a couple of deep breaths.

I found myself reliving everything in my head. I remembered everything as if it had happened yesterday. I started shaking, and crying remembering everything. I felt Edward's arms wrap around me, and Jane came over to take my hand in hers. It had seemed so long ago until now, hearing Mike describe that night in perfect detail. It was almost too much for me. I had a moment where all I wanted to do is scream, and beg Mike not to go on, but I knew I couldn't do that. We needed this.

"Nursing complete strangers is one thing, but to see your fiancee, the woman you love, in so much pain, in tears because of the pain, unable to move, it's scary. I didn't know how to help her. I laid with her for a while trying to help calm her down, I tried soothing her, but I knew when she started bleeding that something was very, very wrong. I rushed her to the hospital, to the emergency room, and they made us wait 2 hours while she bled before they'd get her into a room. Once they examined her, it was too late. She'd miscarried. They gave her the option to birth the baby, or have it removed surgically, so we talked and decided that surgically would be best. She went into surgery an hour and a half after she got into a room. We did get to see our baby and say goodbye. It was one of the hardest things I've done to date. They told us that she needed to stay in the hospital overnight for observation, but told me that I could stay if I wanted. That night we just laid in her hospital bed and stared at each other. We couldn't cry, couldn't sleep, couldn't talk. We were empty in that moment. We weren't able to get over the pain. That's why we aren't together anymore, but we are still grieving."

When he was done, there was total silence. Mike and I had tears streaming down our faces, one of my hands was covering my stomach where the scar from the surgery was. Alice's eyes were wet with unshed tears and Jasper was holding her hand. Jane was holding my hand tightly looking at Alec who just looked very surprised. Irina was leaning against the wall rolling her eyes, looking rather bored, and Laurent was still standing in front of Mike, glaring at him.

Slowly I stood up, releasing myself from Edwards arms. He too had tears streaming down his face as he heard the rest of the details from that night. I walked over to where Mike was standing in front of Laurent and lifted my shirt just a bit so the scar was showing.

"There. There's your proof. The scar from the surgery." I said, my voice breaking.

I felt Mike's hand on my shoulder as I broke down bawling. I dropped the hem of my shirt when Edward came up behind me and wrapped me in his arms once more.

_You tried to make me small; make me fall and it's all your fault_

The moment was broken by an icy cold voice. "Do you really expect us to believe you? That was a nicely rehearsed story." Irina said sauntering forward. Her walk resembled a model walking down a runway.

I'm sure our faces showed something close to horror at her comment. Edward's arms tightened as well as Mike's grip on my shoulder. From what I could see Jasper was barely holding in his anger, Alice was about the same, and Jane was quietly trying to soothe Alec who looked murderous.

"What the hell did you just say?" Edward asked in a voice of barely controlled rage.

"Irina, I think you have a point. That was definitely rehearsed. Was that speech on the recorder you have on the table there?" Laurent said.

My heart sank. After all that, they still didn't believe us.

"Mike, Bella, why don't you go to the balcony. I'm sure you're in need of a cigarette. We can handle the assholes." Edward said rubbing my back vigorously.

"Okay honey." I said giving him a worried look.

Quietly, Mike and I grabbed a zip up hoodie and stepped out onto the balcony. Jane joined us soon after in Alec's hoodie. Mike and I lit up a cigarette and watched the events in the living room through the door. Alice was in Irina's face, most likely screaming, Jasper standing back, watching her proudly. Alec and Edward were in Laurent's face, probably letting lose on him like Alice was Irina. Pressing my ear up against the glass I could faintly hear the words being said.

"You're the piece of shit. How the hell can you keep doing what you are? Do you get off on hurting people, even ones you've never met." Alec yelled.

"Bitch be lucky I don't end your ass." Alice laughed at something Irina had said.

"What kind of father are you to abandon your own daughter then hold shit over her head that frankly doesn't exist?" Edward asked.

I'd heard enough and sank down into one of the chairs. The three of us were silent while Mike and I smoked. When we were finished we went in but nothing prepared us for what we were about to walk in on.

_Let's get the story straight; you were a poison flooding through my veins; you're driving me insane_

Alice shoved Irina backwards and she fell as Laurent finally snapped.

"You know what, I don't even care anymore! If there really is no baby, I don't want anything at all to do with that lying slut. She can rot in hell for all I care!" Laurent said.

Even though I knew the truth, nothing could've prepared me to hear those words coming from Laurent. Never could I have prepared myself to hear that. I faintly heard a fist connecting with Laurent's jaw, but there was a loud ringing in my ears.

Suddenly I was sweaty and black spots were filling my vision. Something was being said, but I couldn't make out what was being said as the ringing got louder. Finally there was nothing but total darkness and an echo of familiar words.

_Now you're gone away; I'm no longer choking; from the pain you put me through; I know that it's not me it's you_

**EPOV**

I punched Laurent in the face like I'd been wanting to from day 1. It had felt good until Mike yelled to me that Bella was in trouble. I turned to look at her, and the sight left me nearly breathless. She was as white as a ghost, but sweating as though she had been running. Her eyes were fixed on something far away, and unfocused. I called out her name, but she didn't respond. Instead she fell to the ground limply. I rushed over to where she was laying on the floor. Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't responding to me. _Oh shit _was the only thing I could think when Mike informed me that she fainted upon hearing what Laurent had to say.


	33. Some Nights

**Ch**. **33**

**EPOV**

I don't know who exactly called 911, but waiting for Bella to come to, and then the ride to the hospital seemed to take a lifetime. Once we got to the hospital, she was rushed into an ER exam room, and I was directed to the waiting room. With a heavy heart, I walked out to the waiting room where Alice, Jasper, Alec, Jane, Carlisle, Esme, and Mike were all waiting.

"How is she?" Alice asked gently.

"I don't know. She's still not conscious, and I was sent out here." I replied, my shoulders sinking with the weight I felt.

"Edward, I might be able to get back there. Would you be okay if I examined your girlfriend?" Mike asked. My respect for him instantly doubled.

"No, I don't mind. Especially if it gives me some answers." I told him.

He nodded once and started walking away, but then he stopped and turned to me. "Edward, you're a good man, in general, and for Bella. I do love her dearly, but not like you do. Not anymore anyways. She needs someone to love her, and for that, I'm glad she's got you" He said sincerely.

I was floored. Before I could respond to anything Mike had just said to me, he turned and walked into the ER. I shrugged and faced the people who cared about Bella. "Did anyone think to call Charlie and Sue or Renee and Phil?" I asked referring to Bella's maternal grandparents, and her mom and step-dad.

"Yes I did." Alice replied. "Renee, Charlie, and Sue are all on their way. Emmett, Rosealie, and James, her brothers and sister-in-law, were called too. Emmett is flying James out tomorrow. I guess he's flipping out." She finished.

I dropped into a nearby chair with a sigh. How much more was she going to have to deal with before she could lead a quiet, happy life? It made my eyes tear up to think about that. I felt a gentle arm come across my shoulders and looked to see Esme sitting on my right.

"She'll be okay Edward." She said quietly. "This is her minds way of protecting her. I promise you, she'll come to soon and be just fine."

"Thanks Esme." I said.

I think we were all ready to wait in silence from then on, when all of the sudden, raised voices came floating through.

"She is biologically his daughter you incompetent ass!" We heard Irina yell. I moved towards the doorway so I could hear everything said.

"I'm sorry ma'am, no one is allowed to see her now. She's currently being examined." The guard at the door replied.

"Not acceptable! I want to speak with someone in charge! Now!" Laurent demanded.

"Names please?" The guard asked in a bored tone of voice.

"Laurent and Irina Swan." Laurent replied smugly.

"One moment please." The guard said, waving someone overto takek his place at the door.

I looked over at Alice, my question certainly being asked through my eyes. She nodded her head affirmatively, and I let out the breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. Time seemed to pass slowly while we all waited to hear what the superior had to say. What was actually a couple of minutes later, the original door guard returned with a doctor wearing her lab coat.

"Hello Mr and Mrs. Swan, I'm doctor Lauren Reed. I'm the administrative head of this EF, and I'm told you're here to see your daughter Isabella Swan?" She addressed them professionally.

"Yes, my daughter fainted during and argument, so we had her transported here by ambulance, and I would like to see that she's okay." Laurent replied, acting the part of concerned parent quite well. "Unfortunately your security guard here won't let me in to see her."

"Sir, two things, first, no one is allowed to see her right now as she is currently being examined by our staff. Second, since ms. Swan is an employee at this particular hospital, we have a copy of a restraining order against you both on file." Doctor Reed replied.

At that, I had to put my hand over my mouth to stifle the urge to laugh when Laurent went as pale as a ghost.

"Now, there's two ways we can handle this." The doctor continued. "If you continue to demand to see Isabella, and cause a scene, and I'll call 911 to deal with you, or you can wait for an update in our overflow waiting room down the hall, and I'll leave you alone and not call the cops. It's your choice."

I could tell by the clenching and unclenching of Laurent's jaw that he wasn't happy with what had just happened, and Irina looked murderous. I could tell she was about to blow any chance of them not having to deal with the Indianapolis police. As soon as Laurent caught the look on her face, his stance and expression changed to that of defeat. In a moment of rare compassion, I stepped into the doorway so they could see me. While Laurrent still seemed defeated, Irina was on the defensive.

"What do you think you're doing here?" She hissed at me. I simply ignored her and addressed doctor Reed.

"I believe I heard you offer Laurent the option to wait for word on Bella?" I asked.

"Indeed sir." She replied, still professional.

"I'm Bella's boyfriend, and I'd like to offer Laurent the ability to wait for word with myself and our friends, but we'd request that Irina be escorted to wait in the car. I'd like this decision to be made by Laurent." I stated.

I could see Alice in my peripheral vision giving me a 'what the hell' look. I grabbed Laurent's shoulder firmly and looked him in the eye. His eyes showed a desperation I couldn't begin to understand. "Laurent, what do you want to do?" I asked him directly.

"I just want to make sure she's okay. I do love her." He said quietly.

I don't know why I believed him, but for some reason I did. "Doctor Reed, I apologize for the interruption this incident has caused. I would request Irina be escorted to their car while Laurent waits withme." I said addressing the head of the ER who was still standing in front of the door to the ER.

"Very well, I'll have Eric escort her out." She replied motioning to the other security guard nearby.

Irina let out a huff before turning on her heel and walking towards the outside doors ahead of Eric who was directly behind her. I released my grip on Laurents shoulder and motioned with my head for him to follow. Alice was still standing in the doorway of the waiting room looking at me like I had 2 heads. I gave her a reassuring smile and walked past her to sit down in a chair next to Carlisle. Laurent looked uncomfortable sitting with us, choosing a chair where he wouldn't be sitting next to anyone.

Silence hung in the air while we all sat and waited. Numerous curious glances were cast between me and Laurent, but neither of us were going to say anything, and nobody asked. We were all content with the status quo while waiting. Fifteen minutes later we all started to get a little restless.

"What is taking so long?" Jane asked, her head resting on Alec's shoulder.

"I don't know, this can't mean anything good." I replied.

"Just relax, she'll be fine, I know it." Alice said holding tightly to Jasper's hand.

I sighed and got up to look out the door of the waiting room down the hallway waiting.

"Who wants some coffee?" Carlisle asked suddenly.

Several people responded that they would, including myself. It was nearing 9 at night and I was tired. It had been an exhausting day with Bella's nephews and then with all of this drama. I was exhausted both physically and emotionally. Esme had just left when my phone rang; I recognized Bella's home number. We'd left her nephews with her next door neighbor who was more than willing to babysit for her.

"Hello?" I answered on the second ring.

"Hi mr. Edward. We were getting ready to go to bed and we wanted to know how auntie Bella is doing?" Zach replied.

"Hey buddy, she's going to be okay." I lied. "Unfortunately she's sleeping so she can't talk to you guys right now, but she told me if I talked to you to tell you boys goodnight and she loves you lots. Be good for mrs. Crowley."

"Okay, we are. We love auntie Bella lots too. Give her hugs when she wakes up." Zach said seriously.

"I will buddy. Sleep good." I replied, a knot forming in my throat imagining it was our son I was talking to.

"Okay, bye!" Zach said happily before hangning up the phone.

I stared at my phone for a second before putting it back into my pocket. I was ready for a future with Bella, marriage, kids, the works, but I wasn't sure where her head was at, and she was currently in the ER possibly fighting to come conscious. I just hoped it'd be soon, before I lost my mind with worry.

Esme returned with multiple cups of coffee on a rolling cart. We all grabbed a cup and sat down with them. No sooner had I taken a sip, Mike exited the door to the ER and headed for our group. I stood up as fast as I could and nearly ran to the guy.

"Well, I have some news for everyone." He said with no expression on his face. It was aggrivating me at the moment. "She's awake and fine, slightly dehydrated but she's on an IV for that. We're keeping her overnight for observation."

I breathed a sigh of relief. My Bella was awake and okay. I began to hope for the future I wanted with her. I barely registered Mike extending his hand to shake mine because I was lost in my thoughts, but I did finally and shook his hand vigorously thanking him so much for taking care of her.

"She's asking for you man. Go see your girl. I'll even escort you back." He said.

"I can't wait to see her." I told him honestly.

I followed Mike out of the waiting room and through the door to the ER. He led me to the outside of an exam room and patted my shoulder before turning around and heading back down the hall. I took a deep breath and turned the doorknob letting myself into her room.

**A/n: Happy birthday to me, I got this posted! Sorry for the cliffhanger, I'll be back with chapter 32. I think there's only going to be 3 chapters after this then an epilogue. I'm proud of how this story has evolved from beginning to end. I'm going to be sad to see this end :( This chapter was inspired by Some Nights by Fun.**


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